Known as the "Five Point Consensus", the ASEAN-led peace effort for Myanmar has made scant progress since its unveiling in April 2021, just months after the country's military staged a coup and unseated the elected government.

Myanmar’s shadow government, the National Unity Government (NUG), has called for the junta's exclusion from ASEAN meetings and praised the creation of a group of three countries, consisting of Indonesia, which chaired the bloc last year, Laos and Malaysia, to address the crisis.

Thailand's Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said on Monday the regional bloc ASEAN must play a key role in ending the protracted civil war in Myanmar, ahead of a summit of the leaders of the 10-member group in Laos this week.

This year, Myanmar has become more involved in major ASEAN meetings under the chairmanship of Laos, which takes a relatively conciliatory stance toward the military leadership in Naypyitaw. Myanmar participated in its first meetings of foreign and defense ministers in three and two years, respectively, albeit with lower-level officials.

Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said on October 7 that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) must play a key role in ending the crisis in Myanmar.