Philippines Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo will seek a meeting with the detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi when he visits Myanmar next week, official sources in Manila said Friday.

They said the July 5-9 trip was at the invitation of Myanmar’s reclusive military rulers last year.

The Philippines takes over in mid-July the rotating chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) that also includes Myanmar, and Romulo said earlier this year that Manila was committed to pushing for democracy there.

“He was invited, but he is not going there to represent the ASEAN,” one Philippine government source told reporters on condition of anonymity.

Myanmar’s rulers have yet to signal whether they will entertain Romulo’s request to meet with Aung San Suu Kyi, the sources added.

The Nobel peace laureate, who turned 61 this year, remains under house arrest, having spent 10 of the past 17 years in detention.

The ruling junta crushed pro-democracy demonstrations in 1988 and two years later rejected the results of national elections won by her National League for Democracy.

ASEAN’s policy of “constructive engagement” with Myanmar has led to friction with key trading partners the United States and the European Union.

ASEAN comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.