Trading collective leverage for isolated bargains blinds the bloc to changing realities on the ground
4-MIN READ4-MINYuyun WahyuningrumandSarah TeittPublished: 11:00am, 27 Jun 2026As Asean foreign ministers prepare to meet in Manila from July 21-22, a quiet but significant shift is under way in the bloc’s approach to Myanmar.Although the Association of Southeast Asian Nations remains formally committed to the “five-point consensus”, several member states appear to be reconsidering the collective pressure strategy adopted since the 2021 coup.Rather than abandoning the consensus outright, they argue that more direct engagement with Naypyidaw may be necessary to encourage its implementation.
