Lazaro Hits Back at Critics of ASEAN's Myanmar Meeting
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- Philippine Foreign Secretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro dismissed the Special Advisory Council for Myanmar's (SAC-M) criticism as "malicious and misleading," saying the July 12 Bangkok meeting with Myanmar FM Tin Maung Swe was part of the special envoy's mandate and not an abandonment of the Five-Point Consensus.
- The Bangkok meeting marked the first engagement between ASEAN and Myanmar's foreign minister since the February 2021 coup; the Philippines hosted it as this year's ASEAN chair.
- SAC-M, whose statement was authored by former Malaysian FM Saifuddin Abdullah, ex-Thai FM Kasit Piromya, and three former UN experts on Myanmar, accused Lazaro of bringing "a disastrous combination of timidity and poor judgment" to the envoy role she took over at the start of 2026 and of meeting Min Aung Hlaing "without extracting a single concession."
- The Five-Point Consensus, agreed in April 2021, called for an immediate cessation of violence, inclusive dialogue with "all parties," and unimpeded humanitarian access — but the military has implemented almost none of it in five years.
- Myanmar's military-dominated parliament recently passed a motion rejecting the Five-Point Consensus as interference inconsistent with the country's "political reality," even as the military continues fatal air strikes across the country.
- Since late 2021, ASEAN had barred Myanmar's military regime from its summits, but the bloc has begun a process of "calibrated engagement" with the new military-backed civilian government that took office in April — driven in part by Thailand's push to bring Myanmar back into the "ASEAN family."
- ASEAN foreign ministers are set to hold an "extended informal consultation" on Five-Point Consensus implementation at next week's ASEAN meetings in Pasay City, where SAC-M is calling for a "reset."
Why it matters: The Philippines' defense of the Bangkok meeting shows ASEAN is quietly pivoting from isolating Myanmar's junta toward pragmatic re-engagement — even as the military parliament formally rejected the Five-Point Consensus and continued fatal air strikes. Thailand's push to normalize Naypyidaw's standing inside ASEAN is now outweighing hardline member states' appetite for consequences, raising the prospect of full normalization with no junta concessions.
