BANGKOK (AP) — Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and the leader of Myanmar’s military government, Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, met in the Thai capital on Thursday for talks widely assumed to focus on efforts to restore peace in war-torn Myanmar.
Authorities had said the talks would focus on humanitarian assistance following the massive earthquake in March that devastated Myanmar, and 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 and how nations in the region can respond to the new U.S. tariff policies.
Myanmar's state-run MRTV television reported Thursday night that Min Aung Hlaing and Anwar discussed post-quake aid by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and Myanmar-ASEAN cooperation at a meeting also attended by Thailand's former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
Meetings may have addressed Myanmar's civil war
But the unusual top-level contacts and rare trip abroad by Min Aung Hlaing, as well as the involvement of Thaksin, suggested a more substantive political agenda. Thaksin is an informal chief advisor to Anwar, current chairman of ASEAN.
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.
Anwar posted on the X social platform that he had met Min Aung Hlaing on Thursday evening for “a frank and constructive discussion, focused on the urgent humanitarian needs of the Myanmar people including the immediate deployment of a field hospital as well as the importance of returning the country to normalcy.”
He added that on Friday he would meet with representatives of the shadow National Unity Government, Myanmar's leading resistance group.
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 quake worsened the country's humanitarian crisis
The United Nations last week warned that damage caused by the March 28 quake will cause food shortages and a possible public health emergency, exacerbating the existing humanitarian crisis caused by the civil war that 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. There was no immediate announcement of such a development.
The U.N. Human Rights Office has accused the military of continuing airstrikes and artillery assaults after the earthquake.
However, some experts have suggested the current ceasefires could turn into a broader peacemaking effort where others have failed.
The 10-member ASEAN, to which Myanmar belongs, agreed soon after the army’s 2021 takeover on a 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.
Critics oppose engaging with Myanmar’s generals
Min Aung Hlaing’s attendance at the BIMSTEC summit of leaders of nations in Bangkok earlier this month was a rare exception to his limited travel 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 toward a fair peace.
Thaksin claimed to Thai media that he urged Min Aung Hlaing on the sidelines of the BIMSTEC summit to engage in peace talks with resistance forces. He has said he met separately with ethnic minority groups fighting against the military.
Critics of the military government charge that Min Aung Hlaing’s visit to Bangkok will do more to legitimize the military government that ensure needed aid.
It risks “legitimizing the illegal military coup and reinforcing the regime responsible” for the people's suffering, said a joint statement Wednesday by the opposition’s National Unity Government and other groups battling military rule.
Opponents of the army accuse it of weaponizing aid, and say foreign humanitarian assistance should be delivered outside military channels.
Grant Peck, The Associated Press
