Thailand Backs Myanmar's Full ASEAN Participation
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- Thailand reaffirmed support for Myanmar's full ASEAN participation in an Aug 6 joint statement during Min Aung Hlaing's first visit since he stepped down as military chief, despite Myanmar still being under heavy sanctions.
- Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow rejected legitimacy concerns, calling Thailand's approach 'calibrated re-engagement' — 'not about legitimacy, it's about reality' — citing shared border problems and the need to talk to 'those who are in the position of power.'
- Min Aung Hlaing presented PowerPoint slides at a business forum with some 700 participants, calling Myanmar 'a peaceful country blessed with abundant natural resources,' while avoiding any mention of conflicts that have killed at least 100,000 people per ACLED estimates.
- Myanmar and Thailand signed three bilateral agreements on day one of the visit covering labour cooperation and environmental pollution along shared rivers, with PM Anutin Charnvirakul calling the relationship between the two countries 'true friends.'
- ASEAN remains divided over whether Min Aung Hlaing — who has insisted the 2021 Five-Point Consensus was not fully endorsed — should return to the bloc's November summit; Sihasak called it 'a two-way street' requiring consensus.
- The World Bank cut Myanmar's annual growth forecast to 2 per cent on June 16, down from 3 per cent prior to the global energy crisis, reflecting the economic toll of the ongoing conflict.
Why it matters: Bangkok's 'calibrated re-engagement' breaks from ASEAN's consensus-based isolation of Myanmar's junta, which has rejected the 2021 Five-Point Consensus and oversees a conflict killing at least 100,000 people. Thailand signed three bilateral deals and urged reduced hostilities but extracted no public commitment from Min Aung Hlaing, who instead pitched Myanmar as 'peaceful' to investors.
