BANGKOK – ASEAN is under increasing pressure at its upcoming summit to ease a five-year ban on Myanmar’s military-backed leaders attending high-level meetings, after Thailand and several other members stepped up engagement despite the country’s ongoing civil war.
Leaders of the Association of South-east Asian Nations are set to review their decision to exclude Myanmar when they meet in Manila from Nov 15 to 17.
Myanmar has been in turmoil since 2021, when then-military chief Min Aung Hlaing ousted the elected government in a coup, unleashing armed conflict across much of the country that has killed more than 100,000 people.
Its political leadership has been barred from ASEAN summits and foreign ministers’ meetings over its failure to implement the Five-Point Consensus, a peace plan agreed after the coup.
But nearly half the bloc’s 11 members have stepped up bilateral engagement since elections in December and January, won overwhelmingly by the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party in the absence of any viable opposition.
Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Malaysia have welcomed Min Aung Hlaing on official visits in 2026.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim pledged in October to work towards Myanmar’s reintegration into the bloc.
Thailand is now openly calling for restrictions to be eased.
“For Thailand, we believe that the next step is to have the foreign minister of…
