Asean leaders to review implementation of Myanmar Five-Point Consensus, chart way forward

MANILA: Asean leaders will review the implementation of the Five-Point Consensus (5PC) on Myanmar at the 49th Asean Summit in Manila and adopt a decision to guide the bloc's future engagement with the country, Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs Theresa P. Lazaro said.

She said the document, titled the Asean Leaders' Review and Decision on the Implementation of the Five-Point Consensus, would take stock of developments in Myanmar and assess progress in implementing the 5PC since the previous review.

Lazaro said the 5PC remained Asean's primary reference for addressing the situation in Myanmar and that the bloc had repeatedly called for its full and effective implementation.

"This is a message that I reiterated during my recent bilateral meeting with the Myanmar foreign minister on Oct 29.

"As such, concrete progress would ultimately depend on the action points that Myanmar would be keen to implement," she told Bernama in a written interview.

Adopted by Asean leaders in 2021, the 5PC calls for an end to violence, dialogue among all parties and the delivery of humanitarian assistance, among other measures.

Lazaro said Myanmar had established an Asean Affairs Committee.

"It is our hope that the creation of this Committee would lead to substantive progress in the implementation of the Five-Point Consensus," she said.

On humanitarian access, Lazaro, who also serves as Asean's special envoy on Myanmar, said a mission she led in October had launched a month-long aid operation expected to reach more than 11,000 households in Kayin, northern Shan and southern Shan states.

The operation focused on communities that had yet to be reached by the Asean Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on disaster management (AHA Centre).

During the mission, she said, the Asean Monitoring Team and representatives from the embassies of Asean member states and Japan distributed rice, family kits and personal hygiene kits.

"Moving forward for the duration of my term as Special Envoy, I will continue to advocate for expanded access, particularly to those areas and communities who need it the most," she said.

The Philippines, as Asean Chair for 2026, will host the 49th Asean Summit and Related Summits in Manila from Nov 15 to 17.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim will lead Malaysia's delegation to the meetings.