Min Aung Hlaing Labels ASEAN Consensus 'Discriminatory'
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- Min Aung Hlaing labeled ASEAN's Five-Point Consensus 'discriminatory' in a parliament speech marking 100 days since he became president of Myanmar's military-backed civilian government.
- He went further, claiming the Consensus 'was not the consensus of all ASEAN member states' but only the statement of then-ASEAN chair Brunei — a remark Myanmar Now reported but absent from the official Myanmar News Agency transcript.
- The Five-Point Consensus was agreed at a special ASEAN summit in Jakarta in April 2021, two months after Myanmar's coup, and included appointing a special envoy, ending violence, allowing humanitarian access, and dialogue among all parties.
- ASEAN barred Myanmar from its summits in late 2021 over non-implementation; Philippine Foreign Secretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro, the bloc's current special envoy, said full reintegration remains 'still far off' without genuine compliance.
- Earlier this month, Myanmar's pro-military parliament adopted a motion rejecting the Consensus as unwarranted interference in internal affairs, and the Foreign Ministry declared it was released 'without reaching a consensus among all Member States.'
- Min Aung Hlaing outlined a five-year domestic plan: two years laying groundwork, three years of nation-building, strengthening the armed forces, establishing a 'people's militia,' and unconditional talks with 13 ethnic armed organizations.
- The administration plans by-elections in 172 constituencies plus infrastructure including the Mandalay-Muse railway to China, an India-Myanmar-Thailand trilateral highway, and 10 power projects including the controversial Myitsone dam in Kachin State.
Why it matters: Min Aung Hlaing's escalation from quiet non-compliance to openly disputing whether the Five-Point Consensus was ever a genuine ASEAN agreement deepens the bloc's Myanmar dilemma. With the special envoy saying reintegration is 'still far off,' the junta's defiance likely keeps Myanmar frozen out of ASEAN summits while it pivots economically toward China and India through flagship rail and highway projects.
