ASEAN Envoy Says No Easing on Myanmar as Manila Summit Prepares to Review Exclusion
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations is not relaxing its approach to Myanmar under its Five-Point Consensus, the bloc's special envoy on Myanmar said on Saturday, November 14, although proposals concerning the country's participation in high-level meetings remain under discussion.
The Five-Point Consensus is ASEAN's main framework for responding to the crisis in Myanmar after the military coup there in 2021. ASEAN special envoy and Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro said a draft review of the Five-Point Consensus was still under negotiation.
Asked directly, Lazaro said there was no easing of the approach and that the Five-Point Consensus remained in place. Her remarks came ahead of a summit of ASEAN leaders in Manila that starts on Sunday.
Leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations are set to review their decision to exclude Myanmar when they meet in Manila from November 15 to 17. The exclusion of Myanmar's military-backed leaders from high-level meetings has been in place for about five years.
ASEAN has come under increasing pressure ahead of the summit to ease that ban. Lazaro's statement indicates that, at least before the summit opens, the bloc's public position remains anchored in the Five-Point Consensus.
Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military ousted the elected government in a 2021 coup, triggering a civil war that the United Nations estimates has killed 100,000 people and displaced more than 3.5 million, according to Reuters reporting the same day.
The review's outcome will only become clear after the leaders' meetings conclude. The summit agenda also includes energy costs and the South China Sea.
Source: Reuters
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：东盟领导人与缅甸军方领导人相对而坐的峰会场面。来源：Wikimedia Commons, Public domain, Government of Indonesia / BPMI Setpres/Laily RE，维基共享资源。 / Photo: ASEAN leaders seated across from Myanmar military leaders at a summit. Credit: Wikimedia Commons, Public domain, Government of Indonesia / BPMI Setpres/Laily RE, via Wikimedia Commons.
