APHR: ASEAN Must Not Fall Into the Junta’s Trap

JAKARTA, 11 July 2026—ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) calls on ASEAN and its member states to reject steps toward legitimizing Myanmar’s military junta, voicing grave concern ahead of tomorrow’s informal meeting in Bangkok between ASEAN Special Envoy and Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro and the junta-appointed foreign minister, to be hosted by Thailand.

The meeting comes just weeks after Myanmar’s military-proxy parliament passed a motion rejecting ASEAN’s Five-Point Consensus. It also follows the junta’s refusal to grant the Special Envoy’s request to meet detained leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

“ASEAN must not fall into the junta’s trap,” said Mercy Chriesty Barends, Member of the House of Representatives of Indonesia and Chairperson of APHR. “Time and again, ASEAN has rewarded the junta’s non-compliance instead of holding it accountable for its crimes against the people of Myanmar.”

APHR warns that proceeding with this meeting risks setting a far broader precedent than Myanmar alone. If a member state’s military can openly reject a consensus its own leaders signed and still be granted a seat at the table later, ASEAN signals that its collective agreements are optional, negotiable for those willing to defy them loudly enough.

APHR urges ASEAN to reject holding tomorrow’s meeting as currently planned and instead develop a stronger, enforceable framework—one that goes beyond the Five-Point Consensus and establishes clear benchmarks, timelines, and consequences for non-compliance. ASEAN must stand with resolve, not repeat an approach that has already failed the people of Myanmar for five years.

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