ASEAN foreign ministers in Philippines to discuss Myanmar
Foreign ministers from the 11-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and their major partners are gathering in Manila, Philippines, this week against a backdrop of instability beyond the region since the U.S. and Iran resumed open conflict, raising concerns about the flow of energy supplies through the Strait of Hormuz, as well as inflation and global growth.
The Middle East crisis will feature prominently in discussions between ASEAN diplomats but there will be an informal consultation on the crisis in Burma since the Feb. 1, 2021 military coup by foreign ministers today held in Manila, according to Philippines’ spokesperson Dominic Xavier Imperial. The Philippines is the 2026 chair of ASEAN and host of the meetings.
The Five Point Consensus, which is the regional bloc’s peace plan for Burma was agreed to by regime leader Min Aung Hlaing in April 2021 but not implemented upon his return to Burma. ASEAN has banned senior regime officials from attending its top-level meetings ever since, but held an “informal” meeting with regime Foreign Minister Tin Maung Swe on July 12. Read more on our website
Campaign to retain UN Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun
Members of the diaspora from Burma in the United States, alongside pro-democracy networks across Europe, Australia, and Asia, convened online on Saturday to coordinate a global campaign advocating for Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun to retain his seat as Burma’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations.
The campaign comes ahead of the 81st session of the U.N. General Assembly (UNGA), scheduled for September 8–22, where the nine-member U.N. Credentials Committee will decide whether Kyaw Moe Tun will maintain his post or be replaced by an appointee from the regime in Naypyidaw, which seized power during the 2021 coup.
Kyaw Moe Tun was appointed as Permanent Representative in October 2020 under Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected National League for Democracy (NLD) government—months before it was ousted during the coup. Since then, he has served as a primary diplomatic lifeline for the democratic resistance at the U.N. Read more on our website
Fortify Rights trains resistance on war crimes investigations
International human rights organization Fortify Rights has called on Burma’s resistance forces to establish independent war crimes mechanisms and units to investigate alleged human rights violations committed by both sides, including its own, in the country’s conflict since the armed uprising to the 2021 coup began.
“We are committed to ensuring all parties to armed conflicts understand their obligations under the laws of war,” said Peter Bouckaert, the senior director of Fortify Rights, in a press release on July 15. “We observed a serious commitment among participants in Karenni State to understanding and applying these standards.”
This call follows a series of trainings for members of the Karenni Nationalities Defense Force (KNDF), Karenni Army (KA), and Karenni People’s Liberation Army (KPLA), in November 2025 and March 2026 set up by the Interim Executive Council (IEC), established in 2023 as the provisional government of Karenni State. Read more on our website
News by Region
ARAKAN—Internet service providers in 14 townships, which were seized by the Arakan Army (AA), told DVB that their Starlink terminals went offline in June. A resident in Mrauk-U Township told DVB that he has lost 10 million MMK ($2,300 USD) after investing in an internet cafe using Starlink.
A coalition of 255 civil society organizations stated on July 17 that recent cuts to Starlink have affected over 13 million people inside Burma. The regime has imposed a sweeping telecommunication blackout across Arakan to cut access to information in areas not currently under its control.
NAYPYIDAW—The regime extended a state of emergency in 58 townships for 90 days while lifting it in Chin State’s Falam and Tonzang townships. A state of emergency was declared on April 23 across 60 townships—transferring civilian administrative and judicial powers to the military.
During a parliamentary session on July 21, five pro-military lawmakers elected during the regime’s 2025-26 polls said that peace and security had “returned to normal” in Falam and Tonzang, agreeing to lift the state of emergency since regime forces regained control of the towns in April and May.
TANINTHARYI—The bodies of four civilians, including three members of a humanitarian aid group and one who remains unidentified, were recovered in Dawei Township’s Akani village on Tuesday, according to a local non-profit. It added that the three aid workers were Dawei residents.
The four were killed during a regime counteroffensive on the village, according to Dawei residents. The bodies were discovered after 4-5 days and were decomposed, according to the MAGGA Initiative. The four were allegedly arrested near the Dawei Special Economic Zone (SEZ) on July 7.
(Exchange rate: $1 USD = 4,320 MMK)
