ASEAN Beat | Diplomacy | Southeast Asia

ASEAN Foreign Ministers to Meet Myanmar Foreign Minister This Weekend

Tin Maung Swe is likely to press the case for diplomatic normalization between ASEAN and the military-backed government in Naypyidaw.

Philippine Foreign Secretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro, speaks at a welcome dinner for ASEAN foreign ministers ahead of the 48th ASEAN Summit in Cebu, Philippines, May 6, 2026.

The foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will hold an informal meeting with their ​Myanmar counterpart this weekend, for the first time in five years.

The meeting, which will take place in Bangkok on July 12, was confirmed yesterday by the foreign ministries of Thailand and Vietnam, Reuters reported.

“The meeting in Bangkok is an opportunity for ASEAN foreign ​ministers to directly exchange views, strengthen cooperation, and promote reconciliation dialogue in ​Myanmar,” Vietnam Foreign Ministry spokesperson Pham Thu Hang said in a regular press briefing yesterday.

Since the military’s seizure of power in February 2021, Myanmar has been paralyzed by conflict between the military and a host of ethnic armed groups and other resistance forces. There are now around 3.6 million displaced people within the country, according to the United Nations, most of whom have been driven from their homes since the coup.

The meeting with the military-backed government’s Foreign Minister Tin Maung Swe was agreed by ASEAN’s foreign ministers at their last summit in May, when Philippine Foreign Secretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro, the current ASEAN special envoy for Myanmar, briefed her counterparts on the “evolving political and humanitarian situation” inside the country.

The 11-nation bloc has excluded Myanmar from the bloc’s summits since late 2021, due to its lack of implementation of the Five-Point Consensus, ASEAN’s roadmap for the management of the country’s conflict. The Consensus, which was agreed at a special ASEAN meeting in April 2021, calls for an immediate cessation of violence and inclusive dialogue involving “all parties” to the conflict.

Since taking office as “president” in April, following a controversial and widely boycotted election, coup leader Min Aung Hlaing has spearheaded a campaign to normalize diplomatic relations with Myanmar’s neighbors, including ASEAN. Shortly after his inauguration, Min Aung Hlaing has announced that his new “civilian” administration intends to “‌enhance ‌international relations and strive to restore normal relations” with the Southeast Asian bloc.

As part of the campaign, Min Aung Hlaing has in recent months announced the release of political prisoners and the relocation of deposed leader........

© The Diplomat