The junta’s diplomatic isolation was highlighted again on Independence Day when only a handful of foreign governments – most of them global pariahs – sent congratulatory messages to mark the January 4 holiday.
Cambodia was the only member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to congratulate Myanmar on the anniversary of its independence.
Belarus, North Korea, Russia and Syria did too.
The international community offered far more applause for Myanmar’s independence before Feb. 1, 2021 when the civilian government was ousted in a coup. In 2018, it took nearly three weeks for state-owned newspapers to publish all the congratulatory messages from foreign heads of state. On average, about 25 countries sent formal congratulatory messages each year when the National League for Democracy was in power.
Chinese President Xi Jinping personally sent them. Beijing was mute this year. China may back the regime on the international stage, but it sent no congratulatory message to mark Independence Day this year.
The first Independence Day anniversary after the coup drew congratulatory messages from five countries. The list rose to seven in 2023 and nine this year.
Myanmar’s new friend, Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, extended his best wishes for Myanmar on Independence Day this year. Like Min Aung Hlaing, he presides over a country facing international sanctions, economic turmoil and surging inflation.
Myanmar’s neighbors China, India and Thailand did not send congratulatory messages, but they are openly close to the regime and their ambassadors attended a dinner marking the anniversary that was hosted by Min Aung Hlaing in Naypyitaw.
Under the ousted NLD government led by jailed State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, leaders and top ministers of ASEAN countries Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Singapore, Laos, Brunei and Cambodia sent congratulatory messages. The United States, Britain, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Poland, Ukraine and Australia did too. Major East Asian powers Japan and South Korea, South American powerhouse Brazil and Cuba also congratulated Myanmar on the anniversary of its independence when the NLD was in power.
Following the coup, western countries like the US and Britain downgraded their relations with the regime. Some Asian and ASEAN countries have not appointed new ambassadors to Myanmar after their ambassadors departed. Their embassies are overseen by chargés d’affaires. Some countries, including US and Britain, have even refused to accept credentials from Myanmar ambassadors.
Junta boss Min Aung Hlaing has only been able to visit one country since the coup: Russia. He was not even invited to the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative in Beijing and has been barred from ASEAN summits.
Since the putsch, the regime’s international engagements have mostly been with China and Russia. It has, however, successfully appointed a new ambassador to North Korea and opened a consulate in Belarus.
It has not rebuked the global powers that imposed sanctions on it. However, it expelled the chargé d’affaires of East Timor’s embassy from Myanmar after the country’s president urged junta soldiers to join the resistance. The regime also sponsored a protest against East Timor president José Ramos-Horta in downtown Yangon.
Despite being a small, poor nation, East Timor has an independent streak. Perhaps this was what the junta could not help itself from targeting.
