Sanctioned and wanted for war crimes in the West and reviled at home by the millions fighting his army, Myanmar’s leader Min Aung Hlaing is this week set for a red-carpet welcome in Thailand, as the diplomatic deep freeze begins to thaw.
The former general toppled Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government in a 2021 coup, sparking a civil war that has killed an estimated 100,000 people – mostly civilians – and cratered its economy, which had only just opened up after five decades of military rule.
Democracy champion Suu Kyi was arrested and made her first public appearance in over two years on Monday – a headline-stealing photo opportunity coming just days before the president’s state visit to Thailand.
Min Aung Hlaing begins his two-day trip to Bangkok on Thursday, his first since a controversial general election held only in military-controlled areas earlier this year.
Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul called on Tuesday for a “calibrated re-engagement” with Myanmar, as his country walks a diplomatic tightrope between talking directly to a volatile neighbour over cross-border issues such as scams, toxic pollution and the economy and Asean’s more guarded approach.
For now, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations still bars Myanmar from its full summits, holding on to a five-point agreement that commits Naypyidaw to ending its violent campaign against its civilian population.