Myanmar’s military leader is in Bangkok for talks on earthquake relief

Malaysian PM Anwar Ibrahim (left) meets Thailand’s PM Paetongtarn Shinawatra
at the Government house in Bangkok, yesterday

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and the leader of Myanmar’s military government, Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, visited the Thai capital yesterday for diplomatic talks widely assumed to focus on efforts to restore peace in war-torn Myanmar.

Authorities said the talks would focus on humanitarian assistance following an earthquake in March that devastated Myanmar, and to promote the extension of a fragile ceasefire to facilitate aid delivery.

Anwar also met with Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, who said they discussed issues of bilateral interest, including development along their mutual border and how nations in the region can respond to the new tariff policies of U.S. President Donald Trump.

There was scarce official news of Min Aung Hlaing’s activities yesterday, and he had not been seen in public.

But the unusual top-level contacts and rare trip abroad by Min Aung Hlaing, as well as the involvement of former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, suggest a more substantive political agenda. Thaksin is serving as an informal chief advisor to Anwar, current chairman of the Association of Southeast Asian nations, meeting occasionally with the Malaysian leader on various issues.

Thaksin, who is the father of current Prime Minister Paetongtarn and seen as pulling the strings of her government, has focused on back-channel diplomacy to end Myanmar’s conflict.

Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military overthrew Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government in February 2021, leading to armed conflict across the country.

The United Nations last week warned that damage caused by the March 28 quake will cause food shortages and a possible public health emergency, worsening the existing humanitarian crisis in Myanmar, where the civil war had already displaced more than 3 million people.

Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun, a spokesperson for Myanmar’s military government, said on Wednesday that the death toll from the 7.7 magnitude quake had reached 3,725, with 5,106 injured.

Ahead of his Bangkok trip, Anwar announced that he would push for an extension of the soon-to-expire ceasefires declared by the Myanmar army and its foes, pro-democracy resistance forces and ethnic minority armed groups, to ease aid efforts.

The U.N. Human Rights Office has accused the military of ongoing attacks after the earthquake, and independent Myanmar media and witnesses say the army has conducted numerous airstrikes and artillery attacks since the quake.

However, some experts hope what is known as “disaster diplomacy” can turn the current ceasefires into a broader peacemaking effort where other have failed before.

The 10-member ASEAN, to which Myanmar belongs, agreed soon after the army’s 2021 takeover on a Five-Point Consensus peace plan, but Myanmar’s military government failed to implement it. The regional bloc has since largely barred Min Aung Hlaing and senior members of his ruling council from its high-level meetings.

Min Aung Hlaing’s attendance at a BIMSTEC summit of leaders of nations in Bangkok earlier this month was a rare exception and drew criticism for legitimizing his rule. Thailand has been accused by the opponents of military rule in Myanmar of failing to pressure the generals to make any concessions that could end Myanmar’s violent struggle.

Thaksin claimed to Thai media that he met with Min Aung Hlaing during the BIMSTEC summit and urged him to engage in peace talks with resistance forces. He has said he met separately with ethnic minority groups engaged in fighting against the military.

Critics of the military government said Min Aung Hlaing’s visit to Bangkok is not aimed at ensuring that aid is delivered based on actual needs.

“Rather than supporting the people of Myanmar, these actions risk legitimizing the illegal military coup and reinforcing the regime responsible for their suffering. Therefore, we firmly object to any such decisions,” said a joint statement Wednesday by the shadow National Unity Government, the country’s leading resistance group, and other groups battling the military government.

Opponents of the army accuse it of weaponizing aid, and say foreign humanitarian assistance should be delivered outside military channels. GRANT PECK, BANGKOK, MDT/AP