India, China attend regional talks on Myanmar crisis hosted by Thailand

Myanmar Foreign Minister Than Swe attends a first meeting on the ongoing civil war in Myanmar involving five neighboring nations on Dec. 19, 2024, in Bangkok.

On Thursday a meet on Myanmar crisis was attended by foreign ministers and high-level representatives from Myanmar and its neighbors, Laos, Bangladesh and to major powers China and India, and host Thailand.

Thai Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa described their talks as important because it was the first time that Myanmar and all five of its neighbors had met together.

Myanmar’s neighbors, fearing regional destabilization, particularly the massive movement of refugees from the fighting, have made numerous efforts to promote a peaceful solution to the crisis.

The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, ASEAN, has taken the lead in efforts to restore peace in Myanmar. Its members, excepting Myanmar, will hold talks in Bangkok on Friday.

ASEAN in early 2021 agreed on a “five-point consensus” for peace, but the military leadership in Myanmar did virtually nothing to implement it, frustrating the group’s fellow members to the extent they have barred leading members of Myanmar’s ruling military from attending their meetings.

The peace plan calls for the immediate cessation of violence in Myanmar, a dialogue among all concerned parties, mediation by an ASEAN special envoy, provision of humanitarian aid through ASEAN channels, and a visit to Myanmar by the special envoy to meet all concerned parties.

Only a very limited Thai-led effort of providing cross-border aid came to fruition. Thailand is widely seen as taking a conciliatory attitude toward Myanmar’s military government, which is condemned by many Western countries for its brutal war and suppression of democracy.

The six nations attending Thursday’s meeting “agreed that direct engagement with Myanmar is critical and necessary,” said Thailand’s Maris.

“They see the value of meeting regularly. And they share the same understanding, more so than other countries, because they are direct neighbors directly impacted by the situation in Myanmar.”

Thai officials said Thursday’s talks “were held in a friendly and cordial atmosphere, with a frank and constructive exchange of views, in areas related to border security and combatting transnational crime, particularly illicit drugs and online scams. ”

They said Myanmar Foreign Minister Than Swe informed them about the military government’s political roadmap, focused on elections planned for next year.

Critics of the Myanmar government of Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing have expressed dissatisfaction at conciliatory approaches to his regime.

“Rather than ‘two-track’ diplomacy, Thailand is engaging in two-faced diplomacy – signing up to ASEAN statements seeking to condemn and isolate the junta, while at the same time quietly attempting to usher the junta back into the regional fold,” said Patrick Phongsathorn, senior advocacy specialist at Fortify Rights, a human rights group specializing in Myanmar affairs.

Than Swe said a population census for the election is under way and 53 political parties have been registered, adding that Myanmar intends to invite foreign election observers, particularly those from neighbouring countries, Maris told reporters after the meeting.

But Than Swe did not give further details on the election during the talks held. Both India and China have expressed support for the planned general election, which is reportedly slated for next November.

Both have maintained ties with the junta. Thursday’s meeting also addressed other issues related to Myanmar and the five other countries such as illicit drug trafficking, the arms trade, human trafficking and online scams, according to Maris.

Although Myanmar, represented by the junta following the coup, agreed to a tentative peace plan with other members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the ongoing conflict between its forces and those of opposition groups, including ethnic minority rebels and the armed wing of a self-declared pro-democracy government, has resulted in thousands of deaths.