Junta deputy prime minister General Mya Tun Oo is currently in Beijing, becoming the ninth junta minister to visit China this month.
Mya Tun Oo—who is also transport and communications minister—arrived in China on Saturday at the invitation of Chinese Transport Minister Li Xiaopeng to attend the Global Sustainable Transport Forum.
The flurry of visits by junta ministers to China coincided with the lead up to the tenth anniversary of Belt and Road Initiative next month. Junta ministers are lobbying Beijing to invite junta boss Min Aung Hlaing to the event, observers say.
Last year, Min Aung Hlaing met Vladimir Putin, the president of the junta’s key ally, Russia.
President Xi Jinping, however, has not welcomed Min Aung Hlaing since the latter’s coup in 2021. Beijing turned down Naypyitaw’s request for Min Aung Hlaing to make an official visit to Beijing.
Beijing is unlikely to invite Min Aung Hlaing to the event despite the fact that it is deepening ties with his pariah regime, observers say.
Mya Tun Oo, who was part of the Defense Services Academy 25th intake, was previously the Chief of the General Staff (Army, Navy and Air) and military intelligence chief. He was appointed defense minister following the putsch in 2021. However, it was believed he fell out of favor and was transferred to the transport ministry when the junta reshuffled its cabinet in August.
A few days before his visit to Beijing, Mya Tun Oo took the helm of three of the regime’s crucial economic committees from Min Aung Hlaing’s right-hand man, Moe Myint Tun, who has been under house arrest and is being interrogated for corruption.
Mya Tun Oo’s comeback coincided with his visit to Beijing. The general has close ties with formerly military dictator Than Shwe who has friendly ties with China.
The Global Sustainable Transport Forum concluded on Monday. Junta media has yet to report what Mya Tun Oo discussed at the event.
Before Mya Tun Oo, eight junta ministers—education, agriculture, health, commerce, finance and planning, construction, immigration, sports—two deputy ministers, the central bank of Myanmar governor, and a member of the junta-appointed Union Election Commission visited China. They signed agreements and urged China to provide access to advanced nuclear technology.
