Bangkok to host special ASEAN FMs' meeting on Myanmar

ASEAN foreign ministers will hold a special meeting in Bangkok on Sunday, which Myanmar Foreign Minister Tin Maung Swe is expected to attend, according to an informed source.

The source, who requested anonymity, said all ASEAN foreign ministers have confirmed their attendance to discuss the post-election situation in Myanmar.

The meeting will mark the first face-to-face talks between ASEAN foreign ministers and their Myanmar counterpart since the bloc barred senior political representatives of Myanmar from high-level meetings following the military takeover in February 2021.

Speaking at a joint press conference in Kuala Lumpur yesterday with Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim praised Thailand's role in facilitating the upcoming special ASEAN meeting on Myanmar.

Anutin is on a two-day official visit to Malaysia.

The in-person meeting was initiated by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow, who has called for calibrated engagement with Myanmar following elections held in late December and early January.

Apart from Russia, China, Belarus, North Korea and India, which have recognised the election results, ASEAN has yet to do so as a bloc.

According to the source, at this stage, only two ASEAN member states remain opposed to recognising Myanmar's military-backed administration unless it makes further progress in implementing the Five-Point Consensus to ensure what ASEAN has described as "meaningful progress."

Whether ASEAN as a whole moves to re-engage with Myanmar is expected to depend largely on Sunday's meeting.

The source said Myanmar will need to assure ASEAN that it is committed to further implementing the Five-Point Consensus.

Over the past five years, ASEAN has repeatedly concluded that Myanmar has made little progress in carrying out the peace plan, which Naypyidaw has criticised as discriminatory.

The meeting will be chaired by Philippine Foreign Secretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro, who visited Naypyidaw shortly after assuming ASEAN's rotating chairmanship.

Following the Bangkok meeting, she is also expected to hold consultations with representatives of Myanmar's resistance groups, including the National Unity Government and ethnic armed organisations.

At the Cebu Summit in May, ASEAN leaders agreed that their foreign ministers should hold face-to-face talks with Myanmar as part of efforts to re-engage with the country.