Bangkok (TDI): ASEAN’s special envoy on Myanmar held separate talks with ethnic armed groups and representatives of Myanmar’s government-backed peace committee in Thailand on Monday, as regional efforts to revive dialogue over the country’s prolonged civil conflict gathered pace.
The meeting, led by Philippine Foreign Minister and ASEAN Special Envoy Maria Theresa Lazaro, came a day after ASEAN foreign ministers held their first face-to-face meeting with Myanmar’s foreign minister since the country’s 2021 military coup, Reuters reported.
According to the Philippine Foreign Ministry, the discussions focused on advancing an inclusive national political dialogue aimed at resolving Myanmar’s conflict. “All sides expressed openness to the dialogue process and emphasized the importance of constructive dialogue,” the ministry said in a statement.
The talks involved representatives of several ethnic armed organizations and Myanmar’s National Solidarity and Peacemaking Negotiation Committee, which was established by the military-backed government.
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Myanmar’s military leadership has been excluded from high-level ASEAN meetings since the 2021 coup due to its failure to implement the bloc’s Five-Point Consensus, a peace framework calling for an end to violence, dialogue among all parties and humanitarian assistance.
Some ASEAN members, however, hope renewed engagement with Myanmar’s current administration could help break the diplomatic deadlock and encourage progress toward a political settlement.
Analysts have cautioned that engaging with Myanmar’s new nominally civilian government, headed by President Min Aung Hlaing, could weaken ASEAN’s leverage over the country’s leadership.
Myanmar’s National Unity Government (NUG), the parallel administration formed by lawmakers ousted in the 2021 coup, said it had not been invited to the talks and questioned the purpose of the meeting.
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“We have major questions about whether this meeting is intended to implement the ASEAN Five-Point Consensus, or if it is based on the military’s 100-day peace initiative,” NUG Foreign Minister Zin Mar Aung told Reuters.
After assuming office in April, Myanmar’s military-backed government announced plans to launch peace talks with opposition armed groups within 100 days.
The February 2021 military coup triggered nationwide protests that later evolved into a multi-front civil war involving the armed forces, ethnic armed organizations and resistance groups. The conflict has displaced millions of people and claimed tens of thousands of lives.
President Min Aung Hlaing took office in April following elections widely criticized by Western governments and human rights organizations as neither free nor fair.
