ASEAN considers Aung San Suu Kyi's status as condition for Myanmar's return

ASEAN is reportedly considering making ‘positive developments’ regarding detained Myanmar democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi a condition for the country to rejoin the regional bloc’s meetings. According to an ASEAN diplomatic source on Friday, the group’s foreign ministers have tasked senior officials with finalising criteria to present their recommendations at the ASEAN Summit in November. In a joint statement following the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting in Manila on Tuesday, the bloc said it would ‘comprehensively review’ the implementation of the Five-Point Consensus (5PC) agreed upon in 2021 to ease the post-coup conflict in Myanmar. Since the military coup, Myanmar’s authorities have not been invited to key ASEAN meetings due to the stalled implementation of the 5PC. The criteria being developed will serve as a basis for ASEAN leaders to decide whether to allow Myanmar to rejoin high-level meetings. The benchmarks under consideration include positive developments regarding Aung San Suu Kyi, expanded humanitarian access, progress in inclusive dialogue, and a reduction in violence against civilians and civilian facilities. The Myanmar military detained Aung San Suu Kyi following the 2021 coup, and the junta recently changed her detention status to house arrest at a designated location, alongside announcing a series of amnesties. ASEAN has continued efforts to facilitate a meeting between Aung San Suu Kyi and the bloc’s special envoy to Myanmar. Meanwhile, Philippine Foreign Minister Maria Theresa Lazaro, who serves as the ASEAN special envoy, stated at a press conference in Manila on Thursday that Myanmar’s return to ASEAN remains ‘very far off’. She also expressed uncertainty about whether she would be permitted to meet Aung San Suu Kyi during a planned humanitarian visit to Myanmar later this year.