Philippine Foreign Secretary Theresa Lazaro sitting beside ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute director and chief executive Choi Shing Kwok during her lecture on Manila's chairmanship of Asean. -- PHOTO: ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute
MANILA (The Straits Times/ANN): Asean is sticking to its position on Myanmar and not recognising the outcome of its recent military-run election unless violence stops, Philippine Foreign Secretary Theresa Lazaro reiterated on Friday (Feb 6), even as questions continue to be asked about the grouping’s stance.
But she also added that “certain permutations” have come up for discussion, such as proposals for humanitarian aid to the country, which has been mired in civil strife since a military coup in 2021.
“There’s no change – the Five-Point Consensus continues to be the very foundation of how we’re going to deal with Myanmar, although I might say that there are certain statements with a possible recalibration, but at a later stage perhaps,” she said.
She was speaking during the question-and-answer session after her lecture at the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore on the Philippines’ 2026 chairmanship of the regional grouping. Nearly half the questions were about Asean’s stance on Myanmar.
Ms Lazaro, who is the Asean chair’s special envoy on Myanmar, said the discussions over permutations resulted from her meetings with the junta and other political groups, which she had wanted to hold ahead of the Asean Foreign Ministers’ Meeting last week.
In early January, days after assuming the role, she travelled to Naypyidaw to meet the military government, sparking concerns that the grouping may be softening its stance on Myanmar.
Two weeks later, she convened a stakeholders’ meeting in Tagaytay City, south of Manila, with representatives from various Myanmar political and ethnic groups.
Asked what developments could prompt Asean to reconsider its position towards Myanmar, she said: “Cessation of violence will be the most basic thing that Asean will look at.”
Bombings were still taking place as recently as December 2025, she noted.
Myanmar’s coup has triggered a protracted civil war and humanitarian crisis. Fighting continues across large parts of the country despite the junta’s attempts to push through a recent general election, held in three phases over December 2025 and January 2026.
The cessation of violence is one of the conditions set out in the Five-Point Consensus, drawn up shortly after the 2021 coup. The plan also calls for dialogue among all parties, humanitarian assistance and the appointment of a special envoy – commitments that the military authorities in Myanmar have largely ignored.
Describing her meetings with stakeholders, Ms Lazaro said: “I can just say that it’s an evolving issue, and that the military junta is of the view that things may change for the better post-election.”
She added that it’s “still very important” for Asean to continue meeting the other stakeholders, some of whom have not been engaged.
She also proposed that Asean appoint a longer-term special envoy to Myanmar for continuity, instead of rotating the post annually with the group’s chairmanship.
Ms Lazaro’s remarks during the lecture signal that the Philippines, as Asean chair, intends to hold the line on the grouping’s existing stance on Myanmar, even as some member states have floated more pragmatic approaches to engage the junta.
The issue surfaced at the Asean Foreign Ministers’ Retreat held in Cebu City, Philippines, on Jan 29, marking the opening salvo of Manila’s chairmanship.
At the meeting, Ms Lazaro said there was no consensus “for now” among member states to endorse the elections, which were widely criticised as an attempt to legitimise military rule.
During her Feb 6 lecture in Singapore, Ms Lazaro also said there is now a “renewed effort” within Asean to inject momentum into negotiations with Beijing on a long-delayed Code of Conduct (COC) on the South China Sea.
She said a technical working group on the COC will hold monthly face-to-face meetings to meet Asean’s goal of finishing the document by 2026. These meetings were previously held once every three months.
“There’s already some kind of an agreement that we will be doing it on a monthly basis to hasten the process, to really discuss the salient points,” said Ms Lazaro.
She noted that while ASEAN and China have “heavily invested in negotiating” the COC over the years, there are a few remaining issues that are “still very contentious”.
Talks on the COC have dragged on for nearly two decades, with ASEAN and China still divided over key provisions: its geographic scope; its relationship to the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea; whether the code would be legally binding; and the terms and definitions governing conduct at sea.
But Ms Lazaro is hopeful about the talks’ progress, saying that member states have presented papers that can serve as a basis for resolving the contested issues.
She added that Asean members have also offered to host the monthly meetings with China.
“There is now some kind of, not only aspiration, (but) a pragmatic aspiration, that we have to finish this Code of Conduct,” said Ms Lazaro.
“I think it’s a very good sign.” -- The Straits Times/ANN
