Naypyidaw launches ASEAN committee in bid to restore Myanmar standing within bloc

Myanmar regime Foreign Minister Tin Maung Sweat a meeting of the newly-formed ASEAN Affairs Committee at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Naypyidaw on Oct. 13. (Credit: Regime media)

The regime in Naypyidaw held the first meeting of its newly formed ASEAN Affairs Committee on Oct. 13, stating that it aims to restore Myanmar’s standing within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which banned all senior regime officials from high-level summits and meetings since April 2021 following the military coup.

The ASEAN Affairs Committee is chaired by regime Foreign Minister Tin Maung Swe, who said the committee would seek to restore what it called its “original role and rights” within the 11-member regional bloc.

The committee was formed after Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim told regime leader Min Aung Hlaing on Oct. 8 that his government would do “whatever possible” to support Myanmar’s full reintegration into ASEAN.