Sentiment is warming among some Southeast Asian members towards easing Myanmar’s isolation five years after a coup, with diplomats signalling a possible opening to bring the crisis-torn nation back into the fold.
Southeast Asian foreign ministers have agreed to a virtual meeting with their Myanmar counterpart, according to Asean’s secretary general on Thursday.
In an interview during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in the Philippines on Thursday, Kao Kim Hourn said Myanmar had indicated it wanted to normalise ties with the 11-member grouping, but its neighbours wanted to see progress on de-escalation, dialogue and aid access.
“It’s very clear that today the Asean foreign ministers agree that there will be an engagement with Myanmar, with the foreign minister of Myanmar, that they will have a virtual meeting coming up in the very near future,” he said.
He said the possibility of creating a special envoy for Myanmar with a remit beyond one year was part of an ongoing discussion, with some “adverse issues” that needed to be addressed. He did not elaborate.
A top Cambodian official, speaking in an interview on the sidelines of the summit, cited the release of more than 4,000 prisoners in Myanmar and the transfer of former leader Aung San Suu Kyi to house arrest as grounds to deepen engagement.
Indonesia’s foreign minister separately echoed those comments, while Thailand has also signalled the need for talks.
“There will be ongoing conversations” among Asean members, said Kung Phoak, secretary of state at Cambodia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, when asked if the country’s coup chief-turned-president Min Aung Hlaing could be invited to attend the next summit, slated for November.
It’s our shared responsibility to help one another
Kung Phoak, Cambodia’s foreign affairs secretary of state
While not guaranteed, he said on Thursday that “Myanmar is still a permanent member of Asean, and it’s our shared responsibility to help one another”.
Myanmar has been largely sidelined from top-level meetings since a 2021 military coup that sparked a nationwide civil conflict, while Suu Kyi and other civilian leaders were imprisoned. Since then, only non-political representatives are allowed to attend after the junta failed to implement a five-point consensus meant to help end the violence.
Thailand has also emphasised continued engagement and wants “to help build bridges” between Myanmar and Asean, while stopping short of calling for any immediate change to Asean’s restrictions on political representation.
Indonesia’s Foreign Minister Sugiono said on Thursday the release of political prisoners and Suu Kyi’s transfer “show a positive gesture and progress towards a positive trajectory”, while urging Myanmar’s authorities to engage all relevant parties and stakeholders to restore stability.
“I can’t say specifically what it’s going to entail, but I can say is that everyone acknowledged the importance of engagement,” Kung Phoak said.
Any move to restore Myanmar’s full participation would likely require consensus among Asean’s other 10 members.
The Philippines, which is hosting this year’s meetings, called on Myanmar to allow Asean’s special envoy access to Suu Kyi.
Myanmar carried out a tightly controlled election in earlier this year aimed at transitioning to civilian rule while maintaining the military’s grip on power through a guaranteed parliamentary role. The vote was won by a military-aligned party and widely dismissed by Western governments as lacking credibility.
Asean “has not reached any consensus with regard to the recognition of the results of the election in Myanmar,” but its engagement with individual countries continues, said Philippine foreign affairs spokesman for Asean affairs Dominic Xavier Imperial.
Additional reporting by Reuters