MANILA, (Reuters): The Philippines, the current chair of ASEAN, this week hosted a meeting of “important political groups” from army-ruled Myanmar, officials said on Thursday, in an effort to advance the regional bloc’s long-stalled peace plan.
Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro, who took over this year as ASEAN’s special envoy to the crisis in Myanmar, said discussions at the “stakeholders’ meeting” in Tagaytay included talk of de-escalation, facilitating aid delivery and fostering political dialogue.
“I encouraged their active, constructive and meaningful sharing of perspectives on the implementation of the ASEAN Five-Point Consensus,” Lazaro said of the meeting on X, referring to the peace plan agreed between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and Myanmar in 2021.
Lazaro’s meeting follows her trip to Myanmar earlier this month, when she met ruling general Min Aung Hlaing and had what Manila said was a “warm and constructive exchange of views.”
RAVAGED BY CONFLICT
Dominic Xavier Imperial, a Philippine foreign ministry official, on Thursday confirmed the military government was not represented at this week’s meeting and declined to name the attendees at their request.
“Important political groups were represented,” he said in a text message to Reuters.
Myanmar has been ravaged by conflict since a 2021 coup that triggered a protest movement, which was brutally suppressed by the military. The situation has devolved into a civil war between the military and a loose alliance of rebel groups.
Aside from some improvements in humanitarian access, ASEAN’s peace plan has made little progress, with fighting ongoing in swathes of the country. Malaysia, last year’s ASEAN chair, had expressed optimism that its efforts to engage different sides in the conflict could bear fruit.
Myanmar – a resource-rich former British colony, which has been governed by the military for most of the past six decades – is facing one of the most serious humanitarian crises in Asia. Thousands have been killed in post-coup conflict and, according to the United Nations, 3.6 million people were displaced.
A spokesperson for the junta did not answer calls on Thursday. Myanmar’s shadow National Unity Government did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the meeting.
MILITARY-DOMINATED ELECTION
Myanmar is holding a phased general election, with two of three voting rounds already completed and official results so far showing a party allied with the military winning the majority of seats. A third round is scheduled to take place on Sunday.
Though turnout has been low, the junta has said the election will bring political stability, describing it as “a victory for the people.”
ASEAN has not sent observers to monitor the election. Critics and some Western governments have called the vote a one-sided sham to perpetuate army rule through civilian proxies.
The Chin National Front, an ethnic minority rebel group that holds territory near Myanmar’s northern border with India, confirmed to Reuters that it had attended the two-day meeting this week and praised envoy Lazaro for making early headway in talking to all sides.
“This was a positive meeting,” its spokesperson Salai Van said. “Within one month, ASEAN’s new chair met with Myanmar stakeholders and we are optimistic about the situation.”
