ASEAN to dedicate two meetings to Myanmar conflict next week, chief says

21/5/2025 17:44

The Southeast Asian grouping ASEAN will hold two meetings specifically on the civil war in army-ruled Myanmar ahead of its summit next week, the bloc's secretary-general said on Wednesday, in a bid to advance its faltering peace effort.



The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations has repeatedly called for a halt in hostilities between rebels and the ruling junta that have displaced an estimated 3.5 million people since the military overthrew the elected civilian government of Aung San Suu Kyi in 2021.



ASEAN's peace proposal that same year, the "Five Point Consensus", which calls for an end to violence and dialogue between warring groups, has made barely any progress, resulting in Myanmar's ruling generals being barred from its summits.



"This is something new that will specifically focus on Myanmar, that they will take no other issue," ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn told Reuters in an interview, referring to the two meetings in Malaysia on Myanmar.