ASEAN reaffirms engagement with Myanmar, seeks to advance peace plan

Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. (center) and first lady Louise Araneta-Marcos pose for a photograph with Myanmar Director-General of the ASEAN Affairs Department Han Win Aung during an Association of Southeast Asian Nationssummit in Manila on Sunday. | POOL / VIA AFP-JIJI

REUTERS, AFP-Jiji

Nov 15, 2026

Manila – Southeast Asian ⁠leaders reaffirmed the need to keep engaging with Myanmar while sticking with a plan calling for an immediate end to violence in the war-torn country, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said Sunday.

Chairing the annual summit of the ​Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Manila, Marcos said the ‌11-member bloc ‌agreed to pursue “constructive and principled engagement” while adhering to its ​five-point peace plan, ASEAN’s framework for responding to the crisis in Myanmar since a 2021 coup.

The summit is under pressure to ⁠ease a five-year ban on Myanmar’s military-backed leaders attending high-level meetings, after Thailand and ⁠several other members stepped up engagement despite Myanmar’s civil war.

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