It has been argued that, since the Theravadin multinational Sixth Buddhist council received the name of "Sixth Buddhist council", this involved implicitly recognizing the fifth, even though most other nations were not involved in the fifth council, and the results of the fifth council were limited to the Burmese edition of the Pali Canon only. However, there were a number of other councils held in Ceylon and Siam between the fourth and sixth, so the total can be made up in other ways.
It has been suggested that, because the Theravadin multinational Sixth Buddhist council was named "Sixth Buddhist council", it implicitly acknowledged the fifth council, even though most other nations did not participate in the fifth council and its results were limited to the Burmese edition of the Pali Canon. However, there were several other councils held in Ceylon and Siam between the fourth and sixth, so the total can be accounted for differently.