CNI News
8 November 2025
People's Party (PP) Chairman U Ko Ko Gyi says ASEAN must review its policies and positions to become a stronger organization.
The People's Party (PP) Chairman U Ko Ko Gyi told CNI News on November 5, 2025, that ASEAN needs to review its policies and positions to become a robust organization.
Major General Zaw Min Tun, Spokesperson for the National Defence and Security Council (NDSC), stated that all ASEAN members need to be mindful of the fundamental principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of other nations.
U Ko Ko Gyi views ASEAN as fundamentally divided into two parts and believes that for it to be a strong institution, the policies and positions established at its founding must be reviewed.
Caption: While an ASEAN meeting was being held
He stated, "Movement within the law—whether in a party or a region—if the law needs to be amended, everyone should gather and try to amend it. If it cannot be amended, you have to try to operate and decide within the existing framework. So, for ASEAN, when it was first established, the consensus was that an action can only be taken with the agreement of all; if one country objected, it could not be done. However, in practice, we see movements that are not organizational in nature. That is why I believe that ASEAN itself needs to re-examine and review itself."
Dr. Aye Maung, Chairman of the Arakan Front Party (AFP), told CNI News that ASEAN should not interfere in the internal affairs of a member state and that there is a discrepancy between ASEAN's founding objectives and its current actions.
He elaborated, "The original objectives of ASEAN's founding and the actions currently being encountered seem a little different. Interference, no matter how, means whether the government in Myanmar changes or not. That should be acknowledged. When an internal issue is handled as a domestic matter, for example, after the [2020 election], the SAC referred to itself as having emerged under its Constitution, according to the emergency provisions, which is a temporary period. So, it should be assessed within the framework of its emergency constitution. When this happens with a one-sided view, relationships weaken further. So, the issue of interfering in internal affairs also arises."
Caption: Dr. Aye Maung
Major General Zaw Min Tun also noted that if all ASEAN member states abide by the ASEAN Charter, the ASEAN Way, and the ASEAN Spirit that they have all agreed upon, it would lead to greater unity and benefit for the member states.
On February 1, 2021, the Myanmar military removed the NLD government, alleging it attempted to form a government without resolving disputes over the 2020 general election voter lists, and declared a state of emergency.
Subsequently, ASEAN intervened in the Myanmar issue and excluded Senior General Min Aung Hlaing and military leaders from ASEAN meetings.
