ASEAN does not recognize military-ruled Myanmar's elections, top Philippine diplomat says

Описание: (29 Jan 2026)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Cebu city, Philippines - 29 January 2026
1. Philippine Foreign Secretary Theresa Lazaro walking on stage
2. Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) sign
3. Philippine Foreign Secretary Theresa Lazaro listening to a reporter’s question
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Theresa Lazaro, Philippine Foreign Secretary:
"ASEAN does not recognize the Myanmar military junta as of now.”
5. Flags of some ASEAN members
6. Wide of press conference
7. SOUNDBITE (English).Theresa Lazaro, Philippine Foreign Secretary:
“We, the Philippines now, as chair, will have monthly face-to-face meetings of the technical working group. And that has been a commitment, and it is a proposal, and was accepted by our ASEAN colleagues.”
Reporter (off camera): "Does China agree to that ma’am?"
Lazaro: “I mean, we're in the process of talking to them, but I don't see any difficulties with that."
8. Lazaro leaving podium
STORYLINE:
The Philippine foreign secretary said Thursday the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) does not recognize the recently held elections in Myanmar, the first since the army seized power in 2021,

ASEAN’s non-recognition of the elections in Myanmar, which a military-backed party claimed to have won, is a major blow to efforts by the country’s military rulers to gain international recognition.

The regional bloc, whose 11 members include Myanmar, has refused to recognize the military-ruled government since the army forcibly wrested power from Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government in 2021. The power grab has plunged the impoverished country in a deadly civil war.

Philippine Foreign Secretary Theresa Lazaro did not elaborate how the regional bloc’s stance could possibly change. She was speaking after hosting the ASEAN's first major ministerial meetings this year in the central city of Cebu. The Myanmar crisis was high on the agenda.

Myanmar’s military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party claimed Monday that it had won the elections. The victory of the party led by a former general was widely expected after the vote excluded major opposition parties and dissent was tightly restricted.

Also, a quarter of parliamentary seats were automatically reserved for the military — effectively guaranteeing control by the armed forces and its favored parties.

Critics say the elections were neither free nor fair, but an effort to legitimize its rule after its forcible seizure of power.

The Philippines holds ASEAN’s rotating chair this year, taking what would have been Myanmar’s turn after the country was suspended from chairing the meeting after the military's seizure of power.

Founded in 1967 in the Cold War era, ASEAN has an unwieldy membership of diverse countries that range from vibrant democracies like the Philippines, a longtime treaty ally of Washington, to authoritarian states like Laos and Cambodia, which are close to Beijing.

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