ON 12 July 2026, foreign ministers of the Associa­tion of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Myanmar’s Foreign Minister U Tin Maung Swe held talks and exchanged views in Bangkok, Thailand. Dur­ing the meeting, Myanmar FM briefed his counterparts on My­anmar’s efforts to foster national stability, peace and development, and Myanmar’s commitment to regional integrity.

Facilitated by Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketke­ow, it was the very first return of face-to-face discussion between Myanmar and ASEAN since 2021. The meeting, despite being an informal talk, went well with frank, candid and constructive exchanges.

The Bloc’s stalled status quo has shifted to a better move

As a matter of fact, it is the responsibility of ASEAN to main­tain the regional integrity, peace, stability, human rights and wel­fare of the people of the member states. However, efforts of the bloc in upholding the abovemen­tioned values, particularly in the context of resolving the Myan­mar issue, can only be made un­der the precondition of equality since Myanmar is still a fellow member and an inalienable part of ASEAN.

“No matter what, it is an in­formal meeting; it is a positive progress by talking in person in­stead of teleconferencing among the foreign ministers. That’s a significant move after a complete halt in communication in the past five years,” U Ko Ko, chairman of the Myanmar Narrative Think Tank Group, remarked.

ASEAN’s earlier overconfi­dence in its commitment in the five-point statement without a clear strategy resulted in nothing on the ASEAN side, but isolating its member state. On the other hand, Myanmar made steadfast efforts in implementing its own political and social strategies that suited its national conditions step by step. Myanmar’s unwavering struggles for internal peace and national development deserve respect and recognition.

Professor Zhai Kun is a lead­ing scholar on ASEAN and South- East Asian Studies at Peking University of China. He shared his remark on the related issue with the writer as follows –

“The Five-Point Statement was an attempt to give ASEAN a common framework for re­sponding to the crisis. However, its implementation has been lim­ited, and ASEAN member states have not always shared the same understanding of how it should be applied. This has made ASE­AN’s position appear cautious and sometimes inconsistent.”

Nevertheless, the com­munication deadlock between Myanmar and ASEAN over the past years now appears to be ap­proaching an end. Only two-sided cooperation with mutual under­standing, trust and respect be­tween Myanmar and ASEAN can create a better shared future for the region, and produce a possi­ble solution, which is pragmatic and fits with the national circum­stances and specific characteris­tics of Myanmar.

“The more constructive interactions are made between Myanmar and ASEAN, the bet­ter improvement can be seen in Myanmar-ASEAN relations,” U Ko Ko remarked.

Myanmar’s consistent atti­tude towards ASEAN

Republic of the Union of Myanmar – a South-East Asian country that is located on the edge of the Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean, and is adjacent to India, China and ASEAN – has been practising the foreign policy of positive neutrality, non-align­ment and the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence.

This year marks the first year of the administration of Myanmar’s newly elected gov­ernment following the general elections held in late 2025 and early 2026. In fact, regular ses­sions of the parliaments are cur­rently convening and discussing wider topics.

On 9 July 2026, the Py­idaungsu Hluttaw (the highest legislative body of Myanmar) urged the union government to review and counter ASEAN’s five-point statement.

This movement was initiated by Pyithu Hluttaw parliamentar­ian Dr Nanda Hla Myint, who represents Kalaw Constituency. He submitted a proposal to the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw on 26 June, calling on the government to take appropriate measures against ASEAN’s five-point statement, arguing that it undermines My­anmar’s equal status within ASE­AN, interferes in the country’s internal affairs, and no longer corresponds to current political realities of Myanmar.

A total of 30 par­liamentarians in the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw discussed the topic with diverse views. All of them denounced and rejected ASEAN’s five-point statement from the perspective of sovereign equality.

It is the legitimate right and interest of a sovereign nation to exer­cise policies and tactics that are suitable for its own national character­istics when managing its own internal affairs. Thus, Myanmar has con­stantly been standing on the Myanmar-led/ My­anmar-owned approach, yet respecting the ASE­AN Charter and interna­tional principles.

Accordingly, Myan­mar FM U Tin Maung Swe cordially stressed during the meeting on 12 July in Bangkok that, “being the democratical­ly elected government, it has the responsibility to implement the decision of the Parliament.”

He also added that it is important to have a thorough understanding of Myanmar’s complex political realities and to take a constructive ap­proach which is consist­ent with the realities on the ground.

Regional integration demands mutual re­spect among member states

ASEAN’s regional integration plays a vital role in today’s era of a fluid and turbulent glob­al environment. ASEAN has to remain united, wise and prudent by up­holding ASEAN’s role in balancing the growing global geopolitical com­petition.

Concerning ASE­AN’s regional integrity, Professor Zhai Kun re­marked: “ASEAN also needs a clearer and more consistent pro­cess for reviewing its policies and responding to changing circum­stances. Its credibility will depend not only on maintaining unity among member states, but also on showing that its principles can be ap­plied in a balanced and meaningful way.”

Myanmar, as a member of the ASEAN family, will continue to cooperate with ASEAN and safeguard our le­gitimate rights and in­terests in both regional and global governance mechanisms.