The Philippines reaffirmed its commitment to implementing the Five-Point Consensus (5PC) to address the ongoing political crisis in Myanmar, according to President Marcos.
In a news release published by the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) late Wednesday, Mr. Marcos said the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is exploring strategies, including informal consultations, to aid Myanmar.
“The position of the Philippines remains the same. We are firmly behind the ASEAN Five-Point Consensus and we are trying to find ways to move forward,” President Marcos said during an interview with the media at the 44th and 45th ASEAN Summits in Vientiane, Laos.
“Because we have to admit that although the Five-Point (Consensus) have been out there since 2021, we have not been very successful in actually improving the situation. So, we are trying to think of new strategies,” he added.
The 5PC calls for the immediate cessation of violence; conduct of constructive dialogue seeking a peaceful solution to the conflict; facilitation of a Special Envoy of ASEAN for mediation of the dialogue process; ASEAN’s provision of humanitarian assistance; and a Special Envoy’s visit to Myanmar to meet with all parties concerned.
Myanmar is currently under a military junta following a coup in 2021, which spawned another bloody civil war that continues to this day.
ASEAN leaders pressed Myanmar’s junta and its opponents on Wednesday to take “concrete action” to stop the bloodshed and sought to kickstart faltering diplomatic efforts to solve the crisis.
The crisis dominated the first day of the ASEAN summit in Vientiane, where the disputed South China Sea will also be high on the agenda.
ASEAN leaders held their first face-to-face talks with a senior Myanmar junta representative in more than three years on the first day.
The junta agreed to a “five-point consensus” plan with ASEAN to restore peace weeks after it ousted Aung San Suu Kyi’s government, but instead pushed ahead with a bloody crackdown on opposition to its rule.
After condemning Myanmar for ignoring the five-point plan at summits in 2022 and 2023, the leaders insisted again on Wednesday it was still their “main reference” to deal with the crisis, the chairman’s draft statement said. How to enforce it remains unclear.
“We are trying to find ways to move forward, because we have to admit that although the five points have been there… we have not been very successful in actually changing the situation,” President Marcos told reporters.
“We are trying to formulate new strategies,” he said, adding that those new strategies had not yet been decided.
