ASEAN Foreign Ministers discuss Myanmar crisis; Resistance wants ‘penalties’ against regime

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) 2026 Chair the Philippines’ Special Envoy on Burma Ma. Theresa P. Lazaro briefed reporters on Tuesday about the “informal” meeting held with Burma’s regime Foreign Minister Tin Maung Swe in Bangkok, Thailand, on July 12 to assess progress towards the Five Point Consensus, the regional bloc’s peace plan since the crisis after the military coup on Feb. 1, 2021. Speaking at a press briefing in Manila on Monday, Philippine government spokesperson Dominic Xavier Imperial said that ASEAN hopes for Burma to return to the table at upcoming meetings and summits with the minister and leader of the country representing it. “However, at the moment, of course, you are all aware that ASEAN member states are still finding ways to achieve that,” Imperial added. Regime leader Min Aung Hlaing agreed to the ASEAN Five Point Consensus in April 2021 but never implemented it upon his return to Burma. Senior regime officials, including Min Aung Hlaing, have been barred from ASEAN high-level summits and meetings since October 2021. In its place, the regime has sent its Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Hau Khan Sum, to Manila July 20-24. Resistance coalition wants ‘penalties’ against regime The Steering Council for the Emergence of a Federal Democratic Union (SCEF)—Burma’s premier resistance coalition—has called on ASEAN to execute an “inclusive and results-oriented” diplomatic effort to resolve the country’s multi-layered crisis since the military coup on Feb. 1, 2021. In a formal message sent to the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Manila on Monday, the coalition urged regional leaders to move beyond rhetoric and impose concrete consequences on the regime in Naypyidaw for its persistent refusal to implement the regional peace plan. SpaceX among 53 firms added to Burma Campaign UK ‘Dirty List’ Human rights advocacy group Burma Campaign UK has added Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which is the parent company of satellite internet provider Starlink, alongside 53 other international corporations from the U.S., E.U. and U.K. to its “Dirty List” on Monday for allegedly aiding Myanmar’s military. “No company can claim to have ethical or socially responsible policies and at the same time be linked to the genocidal Burmese military,” said Mark Farmaner, the director of Burma Campaign UK, in a statement issued on July 20. The “Dirty List” is a registry of foreign companies that the group says is directly or indirectly supporting the military. News by Region ARAKAN—Aid workers in Minbya Township told DVB that 20 homes in three wards were swept away by flooding and riverbank erosion this month, as rising water levels in the Laymyo River. An unknown number of families have left their homes and are currently sheltering with relatives or at monasteries. “Many families have nowhere to [go],” a Minbya resident told DVB on the condition of anonymity. Aid groups have provided food and clothing to displaced families. At least five civilians have died and nearly 100,000 others have been impacted by flooding triggered by heavy rains that began on July 6. BAGO—The Political Prisoners Network Myanmar (PPNM) stated on Monday that a 72-year-old farmer from Bago’s Paungde Prison, named Tun Myint died in Bago Region’s Paungde Hospital on July 12. This was the second political prisoner at Paungde Prison to die from “inadequate” medical care. YANGON—The regime-controlled Myanmar Livestock Federation has begun selling eggs at 550 MMK ($0.12 USD) apiece on trucks and at an undisclosed number of markets on Wednesday. This follows criticism of the regime after the market rate hit 700 MMK ($0.16 USD) per egg. A resident of South Okkalapa Township told DVB on the condition of anonymity that there is an insufficient egg supply for every individual to buy enough to feed a household. The price of an egg has increased sevenfold from 100 MMK ($0.02 USD) since the 2021 military coup. The post ASEAN Foreign Ministers discuss Myanmar crisis; Resistance wants ‘penalties’ against regime appeared first on DVB.