Philippine president calls Myanmar’s exclusion from ASEAN ‘tragedy’

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. stressed Friday that more must be done to address the crisis in Myanmar.

Myanmar’s continued isolation from the regional bloc is “a tragedy,” said Marcos at a press conference after the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Cebu, Philippines.

Marcos, who is serving as chair for the regional bloc, said member states shared a “tacit agreement” to intensify efforts to engage Myanmar and seek progress toward peace and stability.

“Myanmar is not merely a friend to ASEAN. Myanmar is part of the ASEAN family, and it is a tragedy when a family member is left out of the family for whatever reason,” he said.

Myanmar’s military-led government has remained largely excluded from high-level ASEAN meetings since the military seized power in 2021, triggering a civil conflict and humanitarian crisis that has destabilized parts of Southeast Asia.

Referring to ASEAN’s five-point consensus on Myanmar, Marcos said regional leaders acknowledged that efforts regarding the member state required renewed momentum.

ASEAN’s five-point consensus on Myanmar calls for an immediate end to violence, dialogue among all parties, mediation by a special ASEAN envoy, humanitarian assistance, and a visit by the envoy to meet all stakeholders in an effort to resolve the country’s political crisis.

-Freedom of navigation

The Philippine leader further said members discussed plans for a proposed ASEAN maritime center.

“This maritime center is not to confront or somehow push back any single force or any single country” he said, but to ensure freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.

The summit also focused heavily on regional energy and fuel security amid ongoing instability linked to the Middle East conflict and disruptions around key maritime trade routes.

Marcos said ASEAN countries had already made arrangements to secure fuel supplies, including through bilateral agreements with countries outside the regional bloc.

They also agreed to strengthen energy resilience through stable fuel supply chains, faster ratification of the ASEAN petroleum security framework, and progress on the long-delayed ASEAN Power Grid project aimed at linking electricity networks across Southeast Asia.

ANEWS wp:paragraph