Philippines meets with ‘ethnic groups’ from Myanmar; UN ambassador warns Naypyidaw evading accountability

Philippines meets with ‘ethnic groups’ from Myanmar

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. Read more