US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel J. Kritenbrink met with a senior Myanmar regime naval officer in Vietnam last week, according to a source familiar with the meeting.
Kritenbrink was in Hanoi on June 21 and 22 on a visit to promote a strategic partnership between the two countries and their support for “a free and open Indo-Pacific region”, according to the State Department.
During the visit, Kritenbrink met with Commodore Kyaw Lin Zaw, a Myanmar regime naval commander, in Hanoi. The Irrawaddy has learned that another US official and the senior diplomat at the US Embassy in Myanmar, Chargé d’Affaires Susan Stevenson, joined the meeting. But the agenda of the meeting is unknown.
The US State Department would neither deny nor confirm the meeting when asked about it by The Irrawaddy.
A State Department spokesperson said the US continued “to deploy all diplomatic tools” at its disposal to press the Myanmar military regime to change course, adding that the US policy on the country has not changed.
“We continue to make clear to the military regime—including through limited private channels—that it must end its violence against the people of Burma, release those unjustly and arbitrarily detained, allow unhindered humanitarian access, and respect the will of the people for a return to the path of progress and an inclusive, representative democracy,” the spokesperson said.
Since the military coup in Myanmar 2021, the US has ramped up economic and political pressure on the junta while engaging with leaders of Myanmar’s pro-democracy movement, including the parallel National Unity Government (NUG) and other political, ethnic and religious stakeholders.
In June last year, the US leveled sanctions against Myanmar’s Ministry of Defense and two banks—Myanma Foreign Trade Bank (MFTB) and Myanma Investment and Commercial Bank (MICB)—used by the junta to purchase arms and other goods in foreign currencies.
The US has also supported the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)’s five-point peace plan for Myanmar. However, the junta has failed to implement the plan, which calls for an immediate cessation of violence in the country. The junta had killed more than 5,300 people as of Monday.
In May, Kritenbrink underscored the US’ close coordination with ASEAN to support Myanmar’s path to inclusive democracy, in line with ASEAN’s peace plan, during the 36th annual ASEAN-US Dialogue in Washington. The dialogue was joined by Thet Win, chargé d’affaires at the Myanmar Embassy in Washington. Kritenbrink called for the military regime to immediately end the violence, release those unjustly detained, and allow unhindered humanitarian access to all those in need.
NUG Deputy Foreign Minister U Moe Zaw Oo said that despite the US’ engagement with the NUG, it had no information about Kritenbrink’s meeting with the junta official in Hanoi and was not notified about it.
On Saturday, when Kritenbrink was in Hanoi, the State Department’s Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor Robert S. Gilchrist met with NUG Human Rights Minister U Aung Myo Min as well as U Moe Zaw Oo.
During the meeting, the ministers urged the US to take more action against the regime and provide support to the Myanmar people that would be directly effective, the NUG said.
