The Southeast Asian bloc ASEAN's special envoy on Myanmar will lead a humanitarian mission to the country starting on Wednesday, ASEAN chair the Philippines said, Reuters reported from Manila on Wednesday.

Source: Reuters via 98.5 The River

The two-day visit by Ma. Theresa Lazaro, the Philippine foreign secretary, will include a trip to Myanmar's Shan State and engagements in the capital Naypyitaw, Reuters said. No details were provided on the engagements.

Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) spokesperson Dax Imperial confirmed the envoy's itinerary, and the mission involves collaboration with the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance (AHA Centre) and various partners to reach vulnerable communities, Policy-Wire reported, adding that the mission aims to negotiate improved access for humanitarian aid within the conflict-stricken nation.

Source: Policy-Wire

100,000 (estimated)People killed in Myanmar's civil war since the 2021 coup, according to Reuters
3.5 million+People displaced by the war
2 daysLength of the envoy's mission, Wednesday to Thursday, covering Shan State and Naypyitaw
2021The year of the military coup that toppled Aung San Suu Kyi and triggered the civil war

The mission faces an uncertain reception. Myanmar's army-backed government has yet to confirm the trip, Reuters said; in August it said there was no longer a need for a special envoy. Lazaro has previously requested access to Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been detained since she was toppled from power in a 2021 military coup, and Policy-Wire reported that Myanmar authorities have denied requests for meetings with the detained leader.

The visit also lands in the middle of a split inside ASEAN. Myanmar's top leadership remains barred from attending top ASEAN meetings due to a lack of compliance with an ASEAN-led peace plan, Reuters said. Some ASEAN members, however, have recently welcomed coup leader Min Aung Hlaing for official visits, including Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. Min Aung Hlaing was elected president in April after a lopsided election dominated by an army-backed party and is seeking re-engagement with ASEAN, Reuters reported.

What happens next

The mission runs through Thursday. Whether Naypyitaw confirms the visit, whom Lazaro is allowed to meet, and whether aid access through Shan State actually widens will be the first tests of whether ASEAN's engagement push can move a peace plan that Myanmar's rulers have so far not complied with — in a civil war that has killed an estimated 100,000 people and displaced more than 3.5 million.