Myanmar leaders’ return to ASEAN meetings ‘still far off’, bloc’s envoy says

Myanmar's military leaders' participation in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summits is "still far off," the Philippine foreign minister said on Thursday. Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war, is still being assessed on its implementation of ASEAN's peace initiative, widely known as the "five-point consensus," so its return is not expected anytime soon, said Maria Theresa Lazaro, ASEAN's special envoy to Myanmar, at a press conference after the ASEAN meetings. "It is still far off," Lazaro, ASEAN's special envoy to Myanmar, said, adding, "There are many questions regarding their implementation." Lazaro, who will lead a humanitarian mission to Myanmar later this year, said it was not yet certain whether she would be able to meet with Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who was ousted and detained following the 2021 coup. ASEAN will draw up criteria to measure progress on the peace roadmap, and failure to adhere to these criteria will be considered a breach of the terms, she added. Min Aung Hlaing, a former military leader of Myanmar and now holding the presidency in 2026, signed the five-point consensus with ASEAN in April 2021, two months after the coup that plunged the country into instability. However, ASEAN banned Myanmar's military leaders from attending its summits due to their failure to implement the peace roadmap, which includes dialogue, a cessation of hostilities, and the provision of humanitarian assistance. The 2026 parliament, which supports the Myanmar military, recently approved a resolution rejecting the five-point consensus, deeming it interference in its internal affairs. Translated by Moe Thet from Reuters' "Myanmar leaders’ return to ASEAN meetings ‘still far off’, bloc’s envoy says."