Meeting with Myanmar's military foreign minister is informal, ASEAN's restrictions on Myanmar's military leaders remain unchanged, says Thai government

YANGON | July 10 While ASEAN countries want to pursue "gradual engagement" with Myanmar, the restrictions imposed by ASEAN on the Myanmar leadership remain in place, Thailand revealed on Friday. This statement comes ahead of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting, which will be the first to be held since the military coup. Tin Maung Swe, who is said to be Myanmar's military foreign minister, will attend an "informal meeting" in Bangkok on July 13 (Sunday) with ASEAN foreign ministers from 11 member states. The Philippines, which holds the rotating chairmanship of ASEAN this year, also confirmed that this meeting will be the first face-to-face meeting between ASEAN foreign ministers and Myanmar's military foreign minister since the 2021 military coup. "These meetings are an important step towards gradual, policy-based engagement with Myanmar," said Maratee Nalita Andamo, deputy spokesperson for the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs. However, he stressed that these meetings are only informal discussions and will not change ASEAN's current stance and decisions regarding Myanmar. He further stated that the meeting is an opportunity for participants to exchange views openly and explore future directions. Since the military overthrew the democratically elected government led by Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021, ASEAN has excluded Myanmar from high-level ASEAN summits. Furthermore, ASEAN's Five-Point Consensus, aimed at ending the ongoing civil war in Myanmar through national dialogue, has not yet achieved effective progress. Analysts have observed that disagreements among ASEAN member states are becoming more apparent. While the Thai-led group seeks to reintegrate Myanmar into ASEAN by capitalizing on minor concessions from Myanmar, other countries wish to maintain their previous hardline stance. The governments of Thailand, the Philippines, and Vietnam have confirmed that their foreign ministers will attend Sunday's meeting. However, the spokesperson for the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the list of participating countries is still being confirmed. In addition, after the recent election held by the military in Myanmar, the military commander Min Aung Hlaing forcibly seized the presidency. He said, "The fact that an election could be held is an important development and a significant opportunity that has not been seen in the past five years." The Philippines also stated that Myanmar's foreign minister will brief ASEAN foreign ministers on the current situation in Myanmar. According to a statement by the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED), the death toll in Myanmar's civil war has exceeded 100,000. Reference: AFP Photo: Myanmar military representative and Thai Foreign Minister seen together at an ASEAN meeting this year.