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Reuters

Thailand hopes to bring Myanmar back into Asean nearly five years after a military coup, Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow has said after meeting his Myanmar counterpart.
“Thailand wants to be a bridge connecting Myanmar back to Asean,” Sihasak told reporters.
He also urged civil war-ravaged Myanmar to make moves to adhere to a long-standing Association of Southeast Asian Nations plan to restore stability.
“Myanmar must help Thailand as well by responding to Asean’s concerns, such as starting a dialogue process, which is a good thing; reducing violence; avoiding attacks on civilians,” Sihasak said, promising that “Thailand will show a leading role” in the process.
Sihasak and Myanmar Foreign Minister Than Shwe held talks in southern Thailand on Wednesday. Than Shwe did not speak after the bilateral meeting.

The 11-nation Asean grouping has excluded Myanmar’s top junta leaders from its main summit since shortly after a military coup in 2021 that toppled the first democratic administration in half a century and sparked nationwide conflict and repression.
Military-run Myanmar held a three-phased election from December to January, the first after the coup. A military-backed party was declared the winner in the election in limited areas, a vote ⁠criticised by the United Nations and rights groups.
“We have not said we’ve accepted [the election], but it’s the reality that an election has happened, so we’ll help by being a bridge. But for us to help them, they have to help us,” Sihasak said on Tuesday ahead of the meeting.
“It’s time for Asean to move. We can have conversations to help the transition be positive … so they can understand Asean’s good intentions,” he said.
Thailand potentially has more at stake in Myanmar than any other Asean member, as it shares a 2,400km (1,500 mile) ‌border that is also Myanmar’s longest with any neighbour.
Than Shwe was Myanmar’s ambassador to the United States in 2012 and later rose after the coup to serve as deputy prime minister and foreign minister.


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Thailand seeks leading role in restoring Myanmar to Asean fold

Myanmar’s Foreign Minister Than Shwe (left) chats with Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow ahead of bilateral talks in Phuket on Wednesday. Photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs / Reuters

Foreign ministers Sihasak Phuangketkeow (right) and Than Shwe discuss Thailand-Myanmar relations on Wednesday. Photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs / Reuters

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Myanmar electoral officials count ballots  at a polling station in Yangon on Sunday. Photo: EPA

A Myanmar electoral official announces the results at a polling station in Yangon on Sunday. Photo: EPA

Myanmar’s junta chief Min Aung Hlaing (right) visits a polling station in Mandalay on Sunday. Photo: Xinhua

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Vote counting takes place on January 25 in Yangon for Myanmar’s general election. Photo: Kyodo

Asean foreign ministers, including Philippine Foreign Secretary Theresa Lazaro (wearing gold) and Secretary General Kao Kim Hourn during the bloc’s Foreign Ministers’ Retreat in Cebu, the Philippines, on January 29. Photo: EPA/Handout

The Philippines’ Foreign Minister Theresa Lazaro, also the Asean chair’s special envoy on Myanmar. Photo: AFP

A man crosses a road on the fifth anniversary of the military takeover, in Yangon, Myanmar, on February 1. Asean needs to revisit how it uses its Five-Point Consensus. Photo: EPA

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Asean foreign ministers pose for a group photo in Cebu City on Thursday where they discussed the bloc’s response to the Myanmar crisis. Photo: Reuters

Myanmar’s Permanent Secretary of Foreign Affairs Hau Khan Sum arrives for the Asean Foreign Ministers’ Retreat in Cebu on Thursday. Photo: Reuters

Myanmar election officials count ballots at a polling station in Yangon on Sunday after the final phase of the country’s multi-stage general election, the first held since the military seized power in a 2021 coup. Photo: EPA

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An official of the Union Election Commission displays a ballot for counting during the second phase of the general election at a polling station in Yangon, Myanmar, on Sunday. Photo: Xinhua

Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs Theresa Lazaro, in her role as special envoy of the Asean chair to Myanmar, with junta leader Min Aung Hlaing on January 6. Photo: Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs

Voters arrive to cast ballots during the second phase of the general election in Yangon, Myanmar, on Sunday. Critics say the polls have been rigged by a crackdown on dissent and a ballot stacked with military allies. Photo: EPA

Myanmar’s junta chief Min Aung Hlaing stands outside a polling station during the second phase of the general election in Yangon on Sunday. The last phase of the election is scheduled for January 25. Photo: Reuters

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A woman casts a ballot during the second phase of Myanmar’s election in Yangon on Sunday. Photo: EPA

Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs Maria Theresa Lazaro at an Asean meeting in Kuala Lumpur in October. Photo: EPA

Myanmar’s junta chief, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, presides over an army parade in Naypyidaw in 2021. Photo: Reuters

Asean’s foreign ministers gather for a meeting in Kuala Lumpur in October. The bloc’s Five-Point Consensus aims to restore peace in war-torn Myanmar. Photo: EPA

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Myanmar’s junta leaders have been excluded from Asean summits since the 2021 military coup that toppled a democratic administration


Myanmar’s junta leaders have been excluded from Asean summits since the 2021 military coup that toppled a democratic administration.


Myanmar

Asean

Diplomacy

Myanmar's democratic transition

Thailand seeks leading role in restoring Myanmar to Asean fold

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Myanmar’s junta leaders have been excluded from Asean summits since the 2021 military coup that toppled a democratic administration

Myanmar’s junta leaders have been excluded from Asean summits since the 2021 military coup that toppled a democratic administration