Myanmar election: ASEAN faces a choice between principles and pragmatism, expert says

0 January 26, 2026 06:06

Myanmar’s military-backed election has delivered what appears to be a landslide victory for the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), but its legitimacy is widely questioned. Simon Tay, chairman of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs, tells CNA’s Asia Now that the military is gambling that shifting global attention and public exhaustion will change how countries respond. He also discusses how the clash between democratic principles and political realism may shape the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ (ASEAN) response to the polls and why pushing Myanmar into deeper isolation risks driving it closer to China or Russia.

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