The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) invited top diplomats of all Southeast Asian countries to discuss the ongoing democratic problem concerning Myanmar following the arrest of the country’s leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the members of her party.
Among those who attended was Philippines’ Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin, Jr. who delivered a virtual speech, expressing “deep concerns” and reassuring the country’s support of the call for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi.
Locsin once again restated that the Philippines recognize The Dao’s role in unifying Myanmar and defended it against the opportunistic and reckless Western imperial countries.
He also added to his speech, “We worked hard to give Myanmar back the respect due a responsible member of the community of nations moving, in the face of great challenges, towards fuller democracy. This should not stop now.”
The secretary reminded the ASEAN that Myanmar is an important part of the family — a family first of peoples and not of governments; feeling the hurt in one of its members. With this, he encouraged ASEAN to further extend its help to Myanmar to restore democracy and stop the human rights violations by taking action for the immediate release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi .