By AFP and published by CNA
CEBU – Thailand’s foreign minister said on Thursday (Jan. 29) that he hoped Myanmar’s recent election would be the “start of a transition” that could lead to sustainable peace in the civil war-torn country.
Myanmar’s pro-military party declared victory on Monday in junta-run elections widely labelled a “sham” by rights groups.
Critics say the poll was stacked with army allies to prolong its grip on power after a 2021 coup that saw massively popular democratic figurehead Aung San Suu Kyi detained and her party dissolved.
Speaking on the sidelines of an Asean retreat in the central Philippines, Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow said he hoped the polls might pave the way to peace.
“It’s not a perfect election, but we hope that it will be the start of the transition,” he told reporters, with the end goal of a “sustainable solution”.
Sihasak later told AFP that Thailand had proposed what it termed “calibrated engagement”, saying the country needed to be proactive given its status as Myanmar’s next-door neighbour.
“It’s not engagement that is meant to accord immediate legitimacy to the new government that will come to power after the election,” he said in an interview, conceding the recent polls did not meet expectations “for many of us”.
“But we hope that by way of engagement and by way of their positive response … we can bring about positive changes. We have to try.”
Theresa Lazaro, foreign minister of current Asean chair the Philippines, said “a good number” of the bloc’s members held similar views, which she called “pragmatic”.
“It’s not an expression of support, but … a view that these elections might be something positive,” Lazaro said at a press briefing that concluded two days of meetings in Cebu.
“As far as the Asean collective, there is no endorsement at this time,” she added.
“Sea of confrontation”
Asean foreign ministers had huddled a day earlier in a two-hour meeting devoted to the ongoing conflict in Myanmar.
The bloc’s efforts to defuse Myanmar’s ongoing civil war have centred around a five-point plan that Myanmar agreed to in 2021 but has borne little fruit.
But it is just one of several issues on Manila’s plate during its year in the Asean chair.
The clock is also ticking on a proposed code of conduct between the 11-nation block and China in the South China Sea, where the Philippines, along with member states Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam, have contesting claims.
The crucial waterway has been the site of repeated clashes between Chinese and Philippine vessels.
With negotiations over the code having dragged on for more than two decades, Lazaro was asked on Thursday if the aim of securing a deal this year was feasible.
“I would love to say (I have) a high level of confidence … but being a pragmatist, I would say that I cannot really predict,” she said, adding issues of contention included the code’s geographic scope and to what degree it would be legally binding.
Analysts have previously suggested that any pact China would agree to would likely lack teeth.
Thailand’s Sihasak told AFP that Beijing typically had shown little interest in negotiating with Asean members collectively.
“They don’t like Asean to get together collectively and negotiate,” he said.
“(The Chinese) should feel that it’s in their interest to have the early conclusion of a code of conduct, which shows we’re able to manage the issues, work towards a solution … that prevents the South China Sea becoming the sea of confrontation.”
CAPTIONS:
Top and Front Page – Thailand’s Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow talks during an interview with AFP on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting Retreat in Cebu on Jan. 29, 2026. Photo: AFP/Jam Sta Rosa and published by CNA
First insert – Philippines’ Foreign Minister Theresa Lazaro speaks at a press conference during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting Retreat in Cebu on Jan. 29, 2026. Photo: AFP/Jam Sta Rosa and published by CNA
Second insert – From left: Malaysia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohamad Hasan, Myanmar’s Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Hau Khan Sum, Thailand’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Sihasak Phuangketkeow, East Timor’s Foreign Minister Bendito dos Santos Freitas, Vietnam’s Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung, Philippines’ Foreign Minister Theresa Lazaro, Singapore’s Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, Brunei’s Second Minister of Foreign Affairs Erywan Yusof, Cambodia’s Deputy Prime Minister, who is also Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Prak Sokhonn, Indonesia’s Foreign Minister Sugiono, Laos’ Foreign Minister Thongsavanh Phomvihane, and Asean Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn pose for a group photo during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Foreign Ministers’ Retreat in Cebu City on Jan. 29, 2026. Photo: Pool via AFP/Jam Sta Rosa and published by CNA
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