Myanmar’s Min Aung Hlaing to Visit Indonesia and Brunei, Regime Spokesperson Says — SkimNews
Get the Geopolitics newsletter
Daily geopolitics — wars, elections, sanctions, the diplomatic moves that move markets. Free.
- Min Aung Hlaing is expected to visit Indonesia and Brunei after his Malaysia trip, according to Myanmar government spokesperson Khaing Khaing Soe, who said the invitations were conveyed by Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim
- Malaysia was the fifth ASEAN member state to host Min Aung Hlaing since he took office as president in April, following trips to Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam, and the first from maritime Southeast Asia
- Since April, Min Aung Hlaing has also visited India, China, Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan as part of a diplomatic push to consolidate partnerships and attract foreign investment
- ASEAN has excluded Myanmar from its summits since late 2021 over its failure to implement the Five-Point Consensus, which calls for cessation of violence, humanitarian access, and inclusive dialogue
- Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. proposed a "new approach" on Myanmar at the bloc's May summit, telling the Straits Times that because "nothing's happening," ASEAN needed to try something else
- Singapore's Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan defined "meaningful progress" as the "permanent cessation of violence," release of all political detainees, and humanitarian access for the ASEAN Coordinating Center
- Timor-Leste, which has been outspoken in criticizing the junta, has permitted its legal authorities to initiate a legal case against Min Aung Hlaing — a move the article says may test whether the newer member has been socialized into the "ASEAN way"
Why it matters: Full normalization of Myanmar's ties with ASEAN requires consensus among all 11 member states, and the diplomatic gains mainland Southeast Asian states are handing Min Aung Hlaing now collide with hardline resistance from Singapore and Timor-Leste. With the Myanmar military continuing attacks on civilians and explicitly refusing ASEAN's demand for an audience with detained leader Aung San Suu Kyi, the key question is how little engagement-minded members will accept before the Five-Point Consensus is abandoned or quietly replaced.
Ask SkimNews
