Myanmar and informal meeting to be held, but ASEAN's stance remains unchanged, says Thailand

AFP Mizzima. -- The Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on July 11 that ASEAN's current stance and decisions regarding Myanmar have not yet changed, and that Myanmar's military regime's Foreign Minister U Tin Maung Swe will meet with ASEAN foreign ministers at an informal meeting to be held in Bangkok on July 13, AFP reported. Maratee Nalita Andamo, deputy spokesperson for the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that while these meetings are an important step towards "gradual policy-based engagement" with Myanmar, they will not change ASEAN's stance or decisions regarding Myanmar. She stated that these meetings are only informal discussions, and participants will exchange views frankly on the Myanmar issue and discuss ways forward. The Philippines, which holds the rotating chairmanship of ASEAN this year, has also confirmed that this meeting will be the first face-to-face meeting between ASEAN foreign ministers and the Myanmar foreign minister since the military coup in 2021. ASEAN has excluded Myanmar's military leader Min Aung Hlaing from summit meetings since the February 2021 military coup and has attempted to implement ASEAN's Five-Point Consensus, but has not yet achieved significant progress, AFP reported. According to analysts, differences in opinion among ASEAN member states regarding Myanmar are becoming more apparent, with disagreements between countries like Thailand that wish to gradually re-engage with Myanmar and those that wish to maintain the current strict stance. The Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that while Thailand, the Philippines, and Vietnam have confirmed the attendance of their foreign ministers, the list of invitees is still being finalized. The Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs also stated that the recent elections held in Myanmar, despite having many restrictions, have created a "new opportunity" that did not exist in the past five years. According to AFP, the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) estimates that the death toll in Myanmar's civil war could exceed 100,000, as armed conflicts continue to occur in the country.