JAKARTA - ASEAN issued a statement on December 13 strongly condemning the Myanmar military airstrike on Mrauk-U Hospital in Rakhine State on December 10, which killed at least 31 civilians and injured 76 more. The attack happened on International Human Rights Day.

“We urge all parties in Myanmar to take concrete action to immediately halt indiscriminate violence, stop targeted attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure, exercise utmost restraint and ensure the protection and safety of all civilians and civilian infrastructure,” said the ASEAN chairmanship in a press release.

ASEAN has been under heavy criticism for being slow, divided, and ineffective in responding to regional crises, especially its handling of Myanmar’s military junta and the rising tensions between Thailand and Cambodia. 

Since fighting restarted in 2023, the Arakan Army has taken control of 14 out of 17 townships in Rakhine State, where Rohingya refugees are stuck in the conflict. Amnesty International found that Myanmar military airstrikes hit record levels in 2025, showing the urgent need to stop jet fuel and weapons shipments to the country.

Amnesty’s Myanmar Researcher Joe Freeman said bombing a hospital on a global day dedicated to human rights shows the utter disregard that the Myanmar military has for civilians. He added that harrowing images of the aftermath shared with Amnesty indicate this was yet another air strike.

The crisis has put more pressure on Bangladesh, which hosts 1.1 million Rohingya refugees in Cox's Bazar, the world's largest refugee settlement. UNHCR reported in July 2025 that 150,000 Rohingya refugees have arrived in the last 18 months as fighting got worse.