Myanmar’s military government has rejected anew ASEAN’s request to meet detained former State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, saying she remains ineligible while serving her prison sentence.
‘Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is serving a prison sentence under the law. Therefore, she cannot be allowed to meet anyone at this time. She may be allowed to do so after she has completed her sentence,’ Myanmar media quoted junta spokesperson Khaing Khaing Soe as saying from Naypyitaw on Monday.
The refusal came after the Philippines, ASEAN’s 2026 chair, formally asked on May 6 that Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro is to be granted access to 81-year-old Suu Kyi.
The issue is expected to figure prominently when Lazaro meets with her counterparts from ASEAN and other dialogue partners in Manila from June 20 to 25.
Philippine DFA Reaction
Asked to comment on Myanmar’s rebuke, Philippine DFA spokesperson for ASEAN Dominic Xavier ‘Dax’ Imperial reiterated its call for Suu Kyi to be released.
‘We welcome the amnesty granted to around 4,500 prisoners and the transfer of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi from detention to house arrest. As Myanmar takes steps in a positive direction, we reiterate the importance of releasing all other prisoners, particularly the elderly and infirm, including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi,’ Imperial said in a statement.
He said Manila remains committed to the bloc’s peace plan called ‘Five-Point Consensus (5PC)’, which calls for dialogue and the release of political prisoners.
He stressed that the release of Suu Kyi and other political prisoners ‘is essential to advancing meaningful political dialogue as envisioned in the 5PC.’
UN Envoy’s Intervention
The junta’s refusal came after the UN Special Envoy on Myanmar, Julie Bishop, also demanded that the junta release Suu Kyi and provide ‘proof of life.’
Bishop told the UN General Assembly on June 19 that Suu Kyi has been in ‘harsh and punitive detention’ since the military takeover, and that ‘there have been no independent verifiable reports of her circumstances for years.’
‘In the eyes of many, there can be no progress to peace while ever State Counsellor Daw Suu is held prisoner,’ Bishop, former Australian foreign minister, said.
During her UNGA address, she also reported Myanmar’s worsening crisis – with 3.7 million displaced people, escalating cybercrime and narcotics trafficking, and the deadliest year for children since the coup.
Bishop dismissed as a ‘sham’ the three-phase general elections that concluded in January 2026 and urged governments to stop engaging Naypyidaw based on ‘economic self-interest.’
Pattern of Denials
The junta has consistently blocked ASEAN envoys from meeting Suu Kyi:
In 2021, Brunei’s envoy Erywan Yusof was denied access, forcing the cancellation of his visit.
In 2022, Cambodian envoy Prak Sokhonn was rebuffed, with the junta citing ongoing legal proceedings.
Later that year, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen personally appealed to Min Aung Hlaing, but no meeting took place.
A rare exception came in July 2023, when Thailand’s foreign minister Don Pramudwinai held a private one-hour meeting with Suu Kyi in Naypyitaw.
Health Dispute
The junta insists Suu Kyi is in ‘very good health,’ but her son Kim Aris has said she suffers from heart disease and osteoporosis.
Neither her condition nor her place of detention has been independently verified.