Myanmar: ASEAN Envoy Meets Foreign Minister in Naypyitaw on Civil War and Aid Access
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) special envoy on Myanmar met Myanmar's foreign minister in the capital Naypyitaw on Thursday to discuss the country's civil war and humanitarian access, according to official statements reported by Reuters on October 30.
Philippine Foreign Secretary Ma. Teresa Lazaro, the ASEAN envoy, met her Myanmar counterpart Tin Maung Swe. Myanmar's army-backed government wants a normalisation of ties with ASEAN, after its leadership was barred from summits in 2021 for failure to de-escalate conflict in the wake of the military coup.
The state-run Global New Light of Myanmar said on Friday that Lazaro discussed ways to restore Myanmar's original role and rights within ASEAN; a statement from Lazaro's office on her trip made no mention of discussing restoring Myanmar's role. Myanmar's government said in August there was no longer a need for an ASEAN special envoy.
Tin Maung Swe said Myanmar was working to implement ASEAN's five-point peace plan in line with its national interests and sovereignty, state media said. Lazaro had sought access to Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, detained since she was toppled in the coup; her office made no mention of a meeting, though she was quoted by a Philippine news outlet as saying she asked about Aung San Suu Kyi and the response was quite positive that she is doing well. Myanmar's civil war has killed an estimated 100,000 people and displaced more than 3.5 million.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 照片：缅甸首都内比都街景，Jakub Hałun 摄，Wikimedia Commons，CC BY-SA 4.0 授权 / Photo: Naypyidaw, Myanmar, by Jakub Hałun, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
