The Philippines, as chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), is set to convene another meeting with Southeast Asian foreign ministers to discuss the “next steps” they will take in dealing with the situation in the politically strife-stricken Myanmar.
An extended informal consultation on the implementation of the Five-Point Consensus (5PC) in Myanmar is scheduled next week during the high-level ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Manila.
The talks will come following the first-ever in-person meeting between ASEAN foreign ministers and their Myanmar counterpart since 2021 in Thailand on Sunday.
In the upcoming Manila meet, Foreign Affairs spokesperson for ASEAN Affairs Dax Imperial said Myanmar, which will be represented by its permanent secretary, will not be part of the informal consultation.
“(The extended informal consultation is) a very important meeting next week, especially with the recently concluded meetings in Thailand. The discussions there will feed into the discussions of the foreign ministers next week,” he said in a press conference.
“What we’re looking at is perhaps you can expect what would be the next steps, what would be the way forward after these engagements,” he said.
Thailand, one of the 11 ASEAN member states, earlier said it will take on a “calibrated re-engagement” policy to gradually support Myanmar’s reintegration into ASEAN while encouraging progress on the ASEAN Five-Point Consensus.
Since 2021, Myanmar’s presence in ASEAN meetings, especially in the ministerial, foreign ministers, and summit-level meetings, has been limited to non-political representation.
At their meeting in Thailand, the ASEAN foreign ministers underscored that the 5PC remains the bloc’s “main reference” for addressing the situation in the country.
Aside from the Philippines and Thailand, other ASEAN members are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Timor-Lestemand Vietnam. (PNA)
