Philippines hosts Myanmar political, ethnic groups for ‘stakeholder meeting’

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) 2026 chair the Philippines has welcomed various political and ethnic nationality leaders from Burma to a “stakeholders’ meeting”, Manila’s foreign minister said on Thursday, in a bid to advance the regional bloc’s stalled ASEAN Five Point Consensus peace plan.

Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Theresa Lazaro, who was appointed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. as this year’s ASEAN Special Envoy on Burma, did not name the groups represented, nor say when the meeting took place. “I encouraged their active, constructive and meaningful sharing of perspectives on the implementation of the ASEAN Five-Point Consensus,” Lazaro shared on social media.

The ASEAN peace plan was agreed to by Burma’s regime leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing in April 2021, two months after he led a military coup on Feb. 1, 2021, but it was not implemented upon his return to Naypyidaw. Lazaro added that discussions included advancing conflict deescalation, facilitating humanitarian aid delivery, addressing transnational crime and fostering political dialogue.

Myanmar has been ravaged by conflict since the 2021 coup triggered a protest movement that has evolved into a nationwide resistance by armed groups opposed to military rule.

The military is currently holding its 2025-26 elections, with two of its three rounds of voting completed and results showing low turnout and the military-proxy Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) winning the majority of seats.

Critics have dismissed the vote as a sham to legitimise military rule through its proxy USDP and ASEAN has not sent election observers.

Aside from some improvements in humanitarian access, ASEAN’s peace plan has largely been a failure, with fighting raging in swathes of the country and the regime refusing to engage in dialogue with opponents it calls “terrorists”.

A regime spokesperson did not answer calls seeking comment from Reuters. Myanmar’s shadow National Unity Government, which is allied with rebel groups, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Philippines is the 2026 ASEAN Chair and the political dialogue comes a week before the regional bloc’s foreign ministers head to the central island of Cebu for a retreat.

REUTERS