US and ASEAN chair reiterate call for Myanmar to release Aung San Suu Kyi
Get the Geopolitics newsletter
Daily geopolitics — wars, elections, sanctions, the diplomatic moves that move markets. Free.
- US State Department and the ASEAN chair issued separate statements on Aug 3 calling for the unconditional release of Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners detained since Myanmar's February 2021 coup.
- Aung San Suu Kyi met with a representative of the International Committee of the Red Cross on Aug 3 — her first such meeting since her detention, ending years of uncertainty over the 81-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate's health.
- Both the US State Department and ASEAN welcomed the ICRC visit and expressed hope it marks the start of regular humanitarian access, including medical care, to Suu Kyi and other detainees.
- The US State Department additionally called on Myanmar's military to engage in dialogue to end the conflict that broke out after the coup.
- The ASEAN chair (the Philippines) reaffirmed the role of the bloc's special envoy under its Five-Point Consensus peace plan, saying it looks forward to the envoy being granted access to Myanmar and to meet all parties, including Suu Kyi.
Why it matters: The synchronized US-ASEAN statements on Aug 3 raise coordinated diplomatic pressure on Myanmar's military regime to grant humanitarian access to Suu Kyi and other detainees. Both sides are tying her release and envoy access to progress under ASEAN's Five-Point Consensus — but the junta's cooperation is the unspecified variable that determines whether the diplomatic choreography translates into material change.
