NWS

ASEAN Leaders to Meet Diplomats from Myanmar indicating shift in latter’s diplomatic policy

Senior Officials of ASEAN and the Republic of Korea (ROK) at the 30th ASEAN-ROK Dialogue, Seoul, South Korea in 2026.
Senior Officials of ASEAN and the Republic of Korea (ROK) at the 30th ASEAN-ROK Dialogue, Seoul, South Korea in 2026. Photo: ASEAN/X

ASEAN leaders will meet diplomatic leaders from Myanmar on July 12. This will be the first such meeting between Myanmar's military government and the bloc after the coup in February 2021, when democratically elected head of state Aung San Suu Kyi was ousted.

The meeting will take place in Bangkok, Thailand. Since the military coup in 2021, ASEAN has, with very little success, managed to call for cessation of violence, access for humanitarian aid, and dialogue among parties involved in the nation affected by civil war for several years. The bloc has maintained only limited diplomatic interactions with the country. The upcoming meeting signals a shift from isolation to cautious engagement on ASEAN’s part.

Continued violence, economic instability and displacement of millions, disrupted cross-border trade and transnational crime has increasingly affected neighbouring countries. And with this meeting, ASEAN hopes to mitigate this while establishing its credibility as South Asia’s principal diplomatic institution.

The only country to have engaged with Myanmar after the coup is China. In June 2021, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met formally with his Myanmar junta-appointed counterpart, Wunna Maung Lwin, at Chongqing, China. They discussed bilateral relations and cooperation to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

China even sent 500,000 vaccines made by Chinese firms Sinovac and Sinopharm. Myanmar has reciprocated diplomatically— it was among the 53 countries that voted in favour of the Hong Kong national security law at the United Nations.

Twice China— once in late 2023 and early 2024, facilitated discussions that led to temporary ceasefires in the country between its military and the Three Brotherhood Alliance.

“The meeting in Bangkok is an opportunity for ASEAN foreign ​ministers to directly exchange views, strengthen cooperation, and promote reconciliation dialogue in ​Myanmar,” Vietnam Foreign Ministry spokesperson Pham Thu Hang said in a press meeting on Friday, The Diplomat reported. The bloc decided on meeting with leaders from the military ruled nation at their last summit in May this year. The current ASEAN special envoy for Myanmar Philippine Foreign Secretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro briefed her counterparts on the “evolving political and humanitarian situation” in the country.

Min Aung Hlaing has shown keen interest to normalise relations with Myanmar’s neighbours including ASEAN and said that his new ‘civilian’ administration intended to strive to restore normal relations with the South East Asian bloc.

The Filipino Foreign Ministry in a statement said: Myanmar may address concerns over the cessation of violence, constructive dialogue among concerned parties, and humanitarian assistance in Myanmar, as indicated in the Five-Point Consensus (5PCs).

ASEAN, under its 5PCs, has called on all parties to cease violence. ASEAN is currently providing humanitarian aid to Myanmar. through its Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management and the blocs’ special envoy has been tasked to meet with all parties concerned in Myanmar.

Among the key issues to be discussed are reducing violence across the country and determining how ASEAN should engage with Myanmar going forward. An outcome Ming Aung Hlaing hopes for post the meeting is for ASEAN to reconsider restrictions it imposed on the nation post the coup.

Even then, the path to normalising relations would remain gradual and a politically sensitive process.