Myanmar Parliament Passes Official Rejection of ASEAN’s Five-Point Peace Plan

Myanmar’s parliament on Thursday rejected a peace plan adopted by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) for Myanmar, after a push from military-backed lawmakers who claimed the plan was inconsistent with the country’s “political reality.”

The motion to reject ASEAN’s Five‑Point Consensus (5PC) was submitted on June 26 by Nanda Hla Myint from the military-proxy Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP).

Following a debate session in which a series of lawmakers gave speeches in support of the official rejection, Union Parliament Speaker Aung Lin Dwe, a close ally of Min Aung Hlaing, approved the motion.

Since ASEAN adopted the 5PC in April 2021 as a framework to address Myanmar’s political crisis following the coup, the response of the military regime has been marked by rejection, reframing and diplomatic maneuvering aimed at undermining the agreement while clinging to regional legitimacy.

The junta, led by Min Aung Hlaing, has never honored the consensus, whose provisions include the immediate cessation of violence. Instead, it has consistently dismissed the 5PC as an illegitimate imposition on Myanmar’s sovereignty, portraying it as interference in the country’s internal affairs, and claiming it violates ASEAN’s principle of non‑interference and undermines Myanmar’s equality within the bloc.

As a result, the regime’s leadership has been excluded from the bloc’s summits since 2021.

However, the regime’s dismissal of the 5PC intensified after the bloc again barred Min Aung Hlaing from its summit in Cebu, Philippines, in May—a month after Min Aung Hlaing rebranded himself from a military ruler to a so-called civilian president via a sham election. The bloc reasoned that the regime had made “little progress” in five years, failing to implement the consensus while continuing to launch military offensives and commit war crimes. This led the military-backed lawmaker to take the issue to the parliament two weeks ago.

Lawmakers argued that the agreement is inconsistent with Myanmar’s “political reality,” and merely an annex to a statement by the ASEAN chair, rather than a binding pact.

Thirty lawmakers endorsed the motion, claiming the exclusion of Min Aung Hlaing from summits since 2021 had damaged Myanmar’s national dignity, while insisting the consensus should be abandoned now that the regime has staged elections to install him as president.

Hlaing Tharyar MP Aye Chan—son of former President’s Office Minister Soe Thane under ex‑President Thein Sein—urged the regime to adopt a more “proactive” stance in dealing with ASEAN, arguing that Myanmar should abandon its defensive posture and take a tougher line.

A lawmaker from Hpa-an, Karen State, even questioned whether Myanmar should consider withdrawing from ASEAN altogether if the bloc continued to treat the regime differently than it did other members.

USDP firebrand Hla Swe went further still, accusing the Philippines—the current holder of ASEAN’s rotating chair—of violating the ASEAN Charter by engaging with anti-regime forces, and calling for Manila’s withdrawal from the bloc.

“It is not Myanmar that should leave ASEAN, but the Philippines, which broke the agreement by engaging with rebels and the opposition,” he declared.

Philippine Foreign Minister Maria Theresa Lazaro visited Naypyitaw for talks with regime officials in January and has also met resistance forces.

Hla Swe described the consensus as a “back‑stabbing” move, insisting that Min Aung Hlaing never agreed to it, and that it was announced without his knowledge.

The motion follows Chinese President Xi Jinping’s pledge to Min Aung Hlaing last month that China would back Myanmar’s “full, equal and constructive participation” in both ASEAN mechanisms and UN processes.

While ASEAN has retained the 5PC as its primary framework for dealing with Myanmar, the bloc is divided on how to move forward. Thailand has said it seeks to help Myanmar reintegrate into the bloc, and Laos recently hosted Min Aung Hlaing on a “goodwill visit”. Indonesia and Malaysia have each sought to help resolve Myanmar’s crisis through bilateral engagement with the regime.

U Win Min, an analyst of Myanmar-ASEAN relations, warned that the Union Parliament’s decision to formally oppose the bloc’s 5PC will only make it harder for the junta to regain Myanmar’s place in ASEAN. He said the move amounts to an insult to the regional grouping itself.

Meanwhile, regime Foreign Minister Tin Maung Swe told the parliament on Thursday that some fellow members are already engaging with the regime individually, and he would join an upcoming informal meeting with his ASEAN counterparts.

Manila announced on Friday that Lazaro will chair the informal meeting scheduled for Sunday in Bangkok, at which foreign ministers will listen to a briefing from Tin Maung Swe on developments in Myanmar and exchange views on ASEAN’s engagement with the country. It will be the first in-person engagement between ASEAN foreign ministers and Myanmar since the 2021 military coup.