Philippines voices concern over Myanmar air strike deaths, injuries

MANILA – The Philippines, current chair of ASEAN, has expressed concern over an air strike in Myanmar’s Rakhine state that caused deaths, injuries and destruction, and stood ready to facilitate discussions within the regional bloc on how best to assist Myanmar.“The Philippines is closely monitoring developments and expresses concern over the attacks which resulted in destruction, loss of lives and injuries to those affected,” Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary for ASEAN Affairs Ana Marie Hernando said in an e-mail response on Oct 3.Manila said that as ASEAN chair, it remained mindful of the views of all member states and would continue to be guided by the regional bloc’s consensus-based approach.The Philippines said it stood ready to facilitate discussions within ASEAN on ways to assist Myanmar, in line with the common aspiration of finding a solution that is “Myanmar-owned and led”.The air strike on Sept 28 in Kyauktaw on the border with Bangladesh, Rakhine’s deadliest such attack since a December hospital bombing, killed 50 people and wounded dozens more.Myanmar has been locked in a nationwide civil war since a 2021 coup, with an alliance of armed groups, including the Arakan Army, fighting against the military.The protracted conflict has since killed around 100,000 people and displaced more than 3.5 million in the impoverished South-east Asian nation. REUTERS