Philippines urges ASEAN to help resolve Myanmar conflict

According to Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, the situation in military-ruled Myanmar has proven to be a challenging matter for the ASEAN region to resolve, with little progress achieved and combat rising. Speaking on Monday at a forum in Hawaii that was live-streamed to the Philippines, Marcos stated that although the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) had made a commitment, the problem was complicated and included implications for humanitarian relief. Over a million people have been displaced, according to the UN, since the military in Myanmar overthrew a fragile democracy that had been in existence for ten years and plunged the nation into conflict and economic disaster. The resistance movement has been strengthening since the junta’s post-coup assault on opponents. Until the top generals pledge to support the two-year-old peace strategy of the grouping, ASEAN has prohibited Myanmar from attending its conference. After replacing Myanmar as ASEAN host in 2026, the Philippines will serve as the organization’s chair. Since last month, tens of thousands more people have been forced to flee as the military repels a concerted assault by a coalition of three ethnic minority groups and pro-democracy activists. Marcos claimed that the junta had already lost the backing of its own armed forces, citing studies of the recent escalation. According to him, the humanitarian cost of conflict has “grown exponentially” in recent years, and the Philippines has been particularly hard hit, with its residents being among those who are trafficked internationally. (With agency inputs)