ASEAN set to create permanent Myanmar envoy in bid to end crisis

Leaders to approve role after annual appointments fail to achieve breakthrough

20250526 Min Augn Hlaing.JPG

Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, the chief of Myanmar's military government, presides over a parade. He has declined to engage fully with ASEAN to secure a lasting ceasefire in the country's protracted civil war. © Reuters

NORMAN GOH and MARWAAN MACAN-MARKAR

KUALA LUMPUR/COLOMBO -- Southeast Asian leaders are expected to endorse the appointment of a permanent special envoy for Myanmar at their summit on Monday, in a major shift from the bloc's current practice of rotating representatives annually and in recognition of the deepening crisis in the civil war-ravaged country.

ASEAN foreign ministers agreed to the proposal during a meeting on Sunday, signaling growing urgency to build engagement with Myanmar's military regime and the myriad forces opposing them.

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