PHNOM PENH — ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn said he has noticed Myanmar’s shift toward a re-engagement with ASEAN. This is being done by Myanmar deploying political representatives to some ASEAN meetings since the beginning of 2024, marking a more active approach following its military coup in 2021, he said.

Since the 2021 ASEAN Summit hosted by Brunei, ASEAN has excluded Myanmar’s junta leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing and other officials from high-level summits due to the junta’s failure to implement ASEAN’s five-point consensus peace plan. Since then, the country has only sent non-political officials to ASEAN meetings.

“However, starting from January 2024, I have noticed a shift in Myanmar’s approach: Myanmar’s military junta sent the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Retreat that took place in Luang Prabang, Laos,” Kim Hourn told a group of journalists during a press conference organized by the Club of Cambodian Journalists (CCJ) on March. 7.

“Additionally, Myanmar has made efforts to fulfill its tasks as the chair at some sectoral gatherings and took part in some meetings,” he said.

Since ASEAN’s five-point consensus peace plan was outlined in April 2021 in response to the political crisis in Myanmar, ASEAN has made significant efforts, but these efforts also rely on Myanmar’s willingness to collaborate and respond accordingly, Kim Hourn said.

“During the ASEAN summits chaired by Cambodia in 2022, and Indonesia in 2023, Myanmar’s responses to their efforts were limited,” he said.

In view of Myanmar’s complex issues, the resolving is a long-term process, which requires all ASEAN member states to remain patient and maintain continuous collaboration among them, Kim Hourn said.

Myanmar has been ruled by a military junta after the democratically elected National League for Democracy was ousted in a coup, resulting in internal turmoil ever since.

“As the country has to address its internal issues, Myanmar has requested to defer its chairmanship in 2026,” Kim Hourn said. “The Philippines will take over the ASEAN chairmanship for 2026.”

This year, Malaysia serves as chair, responsible for hosting the numerous ASEAN meetings and summits.

In the upcoming ASEAN Summit in May 2025, ASEAN leaders will adopt the ASEAN Community Vision 2045 and its four strategic plans covering the areas of political-security, economy, socio-culture, and connectivity, Kim Hourn said.

The ASEAN Community Vision 2045 will be the longest strategic plan, outlining clear goals and priorities for the next two decades, he said.

Kim Hourn, who is the first Cambodian national ever to serve as ASEAN secretary-general, began his nonrenewable 5-year term on Jan. 1, 2023.

“I must leave behind lasting legacies when my tenure ends,” he said. “There are numerous challenges ahead that will be resolved but they will require time, cleverness, and adaptability. Most importantly, what is crucial is building trust among countries.”

Kim Hourn acknowledged that some issues are bilateral, concerning two nations and not directly affecting ASEAN as a whole. However, ASEAN’s presence ensures that these bilateral issues do not escalate into wars between member states, he said. 

Kim Hourn took part in the Cambodia-ASEAN Business Summit 2025 in Phnom Penh on March. 6.