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The Straits Times (22 January 2026)

The Philippines, the current chair of ASEAN, this week hosted a meeting of “important political groups” from army-ruled Myanmar, officials said on Jan 22, in an effort to advance the regional bloc’s long-stalled peace plan.

Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Theresa Lazaro, who took over in 2026 as the ASEAN special envoy for the crisis in Myanmar, said discussions at the “stakeholders’ meeting” in Tagaytay included talk of de-escalation, facilitating aid delivery and fostering political dialogue.

“I encouraged their active, constructive and meaningful sharing of perspectives on the implementation of the ASEAN Five-Point Consensus,” Ms Lazaro said of the meeting on X, referring to the peace plan agreed between the Association of South-east Asian Nations and Myanmar in 2021. 

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