MYANMAR’S ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi is “indispensable” to restoring democracy to the country, said the Philippines Foreign Minister today, echoing condemnation of her recent sentencing by a junta court.

The Nobel laureate, who has been detained since the coup on February 1 last year, was convicted of three criminal charges and sentenced to four years in prison on January 10.

The junta court has since hit her with five new corruption charges – adding to a slew of cases against the 76-year-old.

While several Western countries, including the United States and Norway, have slammed the latest sentencing, Southeast Asian leaders have been largely silent.

Philippines Foreign Minister Teodoro Locsin broke ranks today, tweeting he adopts “as my own” a statement by his Norwegian counterpart Anniken Huitfeldt that condemned the sentencing.

“Suu Kyi is indispensable in a democratic restoration that will pose no threat of anarchy, dissolution and civil conflict,” he said, adding Myanmar armed forces “have nothing to fear”.

Locsin also backed the recent visit to Myanmar by Cambodia strongman ruler Hun Sen – the first by a foreign leader since the coup – highlighting regional tensions over how to deal with the crisis-hit nation.

Critics said the visit by Hun Sen, whose country holds the rotating chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), risks legitimising the junta and undermining efforts to isolate the generals.

But Locsin said Hun Sen achieved “headways” and “deserves wholehearted support”.

Asean seeks to help Myanmar, agreeing to a “five-point consensus” aimed at defusing the crisis last year, but the generals have shown little sign of changing course.

More than 1,400 civilians have been killed as the military cracks down on dissent, according to a local monitoring group.

The bloc took a highly unusual step of excluding junta chief Min Aung Hlaing from a summit in October, in response to an Asean envoy being denied a meeting with Suu Kyi.

But Hun Sen met the military leader during his visit, and insisted the trip can have a positive impact. – AFP, January 16, 2022.