ASEAN keeps Myanmar restrictions but opens path to political return

Southeast Asian leaders said on Sunday they may consider gradually ‌restoring Myanmar's full political representation in the regional bloc, if the country makes progress on their longstanding plan to resolve its five-year-old crisis. Leaders of the 11-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations agreed at a summit in Manila to maintain their policy of excluding Myanmar from ‌full political representation at ASEAN summits and foreign ministers' meetings for now.

But they said they had agreed to pursue a "calibrated engagement" ‌through a "phased and progress-based" approach, if Myanmar makes "sustained and concrete" progress on the bloc's proposed plan, known as the five-point consensus, or 5PC. And in a notable step, the bloc also appeared to endorse bilateral outreach to Myanmar among its member countries.

Thailand and several other ASEAN members have stepped up engagement with ⁠Myanmar in ​recent months, creating new pressureon the ⁠bloc to ease its ban on Myanmar's military-backed leaders attending its high-level meetings. "Subject to sustained and concrete progress in the implementation of the 5PC by ⁠Myanmar, ASEAN may consider the gradual restoration of Myanmar's full political representation," the leaders said in a joint decision adopted at the summit.

"We also ​encourage efforts by individual ASEAN Member States through constructive engagement with all relevant stakeholders, in consultation with the ASEAN Chair, ⁠to advance substantive progress in the implementation of the 5PC," they said. ASEAN's five-point consensus, adopted soon after the military seized power in Myanmar in 2021, calls ⁠for ​an immediate end to violence there and for the launch of constructive dialogue among all parties. It offers ASEAN mediation and humanitarian assistance.

Myanmar's army-backed government wants to normalise ties with ASEAN. The country has been in turmoil since the military ousted Nobel ⁠Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi's elected government, triggering a civil war that the UN estimates has killed 100,000 people and ⁠displaced more than 3.5 million. Coup ⁠leader-turned-president Min Aung Hlaing's military has received support from China, India and Russia. His administration has gained increasing international recognition in recent months, including secret talks with US officials as President Donald Trump's ‌administration reverses years ‌of isolation.