Myanmar Junta Lashes Out at Timor-Leste President Over 'ASEAN Stain' Comment — SAC Foreign Ministry Condemns Ramos-Horta's Public Criticism

Myanmar's military-controlled Foreign Ministry issued a sharp rebuke to Timor-Leste President José Ramos-Horta on June 6–7, 2026 after he publicly called Myanmar's civil war 'a stain on ASEAN's otherwise impressive catalogue of successes.' The SAC's Foreign Ministry statement dismissed Ramos-Horta's remarks as interference in Myanmar's internal affairs and rejected his characterization of the conflict. Timor-Leste is an ASEAN member state (acceded 2023) and Ramos-Horta — a Nobel Peace Laureate and veteran of Timor-Leste's independence struggle against Indonesian occupation — has been one of the most outspoken ASEAN leaders on Myanmar, pushing for stronger collective action from the bloc. The rebuke comes as the SAC works to consolidate international legitimacy following Min Aung Hlaing's India state visit (May 30–June 3) and FM Tin Maung Swe's Beijing visit (June 4–6). It also follows Min Aung Hlaing's exclusion from the ASEAN Leaders' Summit in Cebu (May 7, 2026 — only the Permanent Secretary attended) and his decision not to attend the ASEAN-Russia Summit in Kazan (June 17–19, 2026; FM Than Swe attending in his place). The junta's diplomatic isolation within ASEAN — despite China's diplomatic endorsement — remains a significant constraint on its international legitimacy, particularly as the ongoing multi-front war produces increasingly documented atrocities.