Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...

and the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

are both members of the

Association of Southeast Asian Nations ASEAN ( , ), officially the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, is a political and economic union of 10 member states in Southeast Asia, which promotes intergovernmental cooperation and facilitates economic, political, security, militar ...

(ASEAN). Formal bilateral and diplomatic relations of both countries established in September 1956. Myanmar has an embassy in

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

and the Philippines maintains its embassy in (Yangoon) and later

Rangoon Yangon ( my, ရန်ကုန်; ; ), formerly spelled as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar (also known as Burma). Yangon served as the capital of Myanmar until 2006, when the military government ...

Bilateral relations

Relations between Myanmar and the Philippines existed before the colonial era. In the 1400s-1500s, historian William Henry Scott, quoting the Portuguese manuscript Summa Orientalis, noted that Mottama in

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

(Myanmar) had a large presence of merchants from

Mindanao Mindanao ( ) ( Jawi: مينداناو) is the second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the island is part of an island group of ...

. Likewise, during the Burmese-Siamese Wars. Burma (Myanmar) employed the military services of mercenaries from Luzon who were called

Lucoes Luzones ( pt, Luções, ; also ''Luzones'' in Spanish) was a demonym used by Portuguese sailors in Malaysia during the early 1500s, referring to the Kapampangan and Tagalog people who lived in Manila Bay, which was then called '' Lusong'' ( pt, ...

. Burmese traders also traded in the Hindu

Rajahnate of Cebu Cebu, or Sugbu, also called the Cebu Rajanate, was an Indianized raja (monarchical) mandala (polity) on the island of Cebu in the Philippines prior to the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors. It is known in ancient Chinese records as the nat ...

in the Visayas islands at the Philippines, as they exchanged Burmese sugar for Cebuano gold. The Philippines was one of the Asian countries most critical of Myanmar's military junta prior to its moves toward democracy in 2011, due to similar experience between the two nations ruled under military juntas of

Ne Win Ne Win ( my, နေဝင်း ; 10 July 1910, or 14 or 24 May 1911 – 5 December 2002) was a Burmese politician and military commander who served as Prime Minister of Burma from 1958 to 1960 and 1962 to 1974, and also President of Burma ...

and

Ferdinand Marcos Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. ( , , ; September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino politician, lawyer, dictator, and kleptocrat who was the 10th president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled under martial ...

. Myanmar and the Philippines strengthen their ties particularly in business and economy. Vice President Jejomar Binay, representing President Benigno Aquino III. Burmese President Thein Sein at the ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit held on 2012 in

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...

. The Philippines agreed to assist in the development of Myanmar's agriculture sector through the introduction of rice and banana technologies. In 2012, Myanmar is poised to reap real trade benefits from neighboring countries and the Philippines where a bilateral trade meeting to strengthen economic ties. Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary

Albert del Rosario Albert Ferreros del Rosario (born November 14, 1939) is a Filipino diplomat. He was the Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines from 2011 to 2016. Background Albert del Rosario was born in Manila on November 14, 1939, to Luis del Rosario ...

meets Foreign Secretary

Wunna Maung Lwin Wunna Maung Lwin ( my, ဝဏ္ဏမောင်လွင်; born 30 May 1952,) is a Burmese politician and incumbent Minister of Foreign Affairs, appointed by Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services Min Aung Hlaing after the 2021 Myanmar coup ...

in Naypyitaw. The visit of del Rosario brought the relations of the two countries closer. The Philippines now supports the lifting of

economic sanctions Economic sanctions are commercial and financial penalties applied by one or more countries against a targeted self-governing state, group, or individual. Economic sanctions are not necessarily imposed because of economic circumstances—they may ...

against Myanmar.

Rohingya crisis

Regarding the Rohingya crisis, the Philippines has been open in receiving Rohingya refugees fleeing from Myanmar. Both the administration of Philippine President Benigno Aquino III and

Rodrigo Duterte Rodrigo Roa Duterte (, ; born March 28, 1945), also known as Digong, Rody, and by the initials DU30 and PRRD, is a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the 16th president of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022. He is the chairperson ...

has pledged support to receive refugees with the latter offering to give Filipino citizenship to the Rohingya. In 2018, Myanmar criticized Duterte's characterization of the situation as a genocide while in response the Philippines issued an apology to Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi and said the relevant remark was critical to European nations criticizing the human rights situation without extending help to Myanmar. Earlier in January 2018, Duterte has advised the Myanmar leader to ignore criticism on her country's human rights situation. A joint Japanese and Filipino team of former diplomats was also formed to investigate alleged human rights violations in relation to the crisis. Under the

Duterte administration Rodrigo Duterte became the 16th President of the Philippines on June 30, 2016, succeeding Benigno Aquino III. He was the first president from Mindanao, the first president to have worked in all three branches of government, and the oldest t ...

, the Philippines voted against a 2017 United Nations General Assembly resolution condemning the human rights situation in Myanmar and a 2018 United Nations Human Rights Council resolution which extended the mandate of a UN international fact finding team probing alleged human rights violations in Myanmar.

Others

Philippine Foreign Affairs Albert del Rosario urged Myanmar's roadmap to democracy, which he said is crucial. Del Rosario conveyed to Myanmar's Foreign Minister Lwin appeal to free the more than 2,000 political prisoners.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Myanmar-Philippines relations

Bilateral relations of the Philippines