US and ASEAN chair the Philippines call for unconditional release of Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi

The U.S. State Department and the 2026 chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) reiterated their calls on Friday for the unconditional release of Myanmar’s jailed State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners. On Monday, Aung San Suu Kyi met with a representative of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) after years of questions over her health and well-being following her arrest during a military coup on Feb. 1, 2021 that ousted her elected National League for Democracy (NLD) government. In separate statements, the State Department and ASEAN chair, the Philippines, both welcomed the ICRC visit and said they hoped it was the start of regular access, including for medical care, to the 81-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner. “We urge the further expansion of access to persons held in detention in Myanmar since February 2021, and reiterate our call for their release, including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s complete and unconditional release,” the government in Manila said in its statement. The State Department shared a statement on social media on Aug. 7: “We hope this visit marks the beginning of regular humanitarian access to Aung San Suu Kyi and serves as a pathway to greater access to all political prisoners”, and called for her “immediate and unconditional release”. The State Department also called on Myanmar’s military to engage in dialogue to end the conflict that broke out after the coup. ASEAN has reaffirmed the role of the bloc’s Special Envoy on Myanmar, Ma. Theresa Lazaro, in engaging all parties in Myanmar in line with the Five-Point Consensus, the regional bloc’s peace plan. It said it looked forward to Lazaro being granted access to visit Myanmar and meet all parties concerned, including Aung San Suu Kyi. The Philippines was pass along the chairship of the 11-member ASEAN at the end of 2026 to Singapore. REUTERS