Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said she conveyed Thailand’s “goodwill” for Myanmar peace efforts when she briefly met junta chief Min Aung Hlaing on the sidelines of a regional summit in China on Thursday.
The two leaders were attending the Greater Mekong Subregion and Ayeyawady–Chao Phraya–Mekong Economic Co-operation Strategy (ACMECS) summits in Kunming.
Myanmar and Thailand share a 2,000 km border, and conflict has sometimes spilled into Thailand and disrupted border trade.
“We had a private conversation and there was nothing unexpected,” Paetongtarn told Thai reporters of her meeting with Min Aung Hlaing.
Myanmar has been in social and political chaos since the military coup led by Min Aung Hlaing in 2021, and since then regime has struggled with nationwide armed resistance that has vowed to topple the military dictatorship.
But Paetongtarn said Myanmar’s conflict is an internal affair.
“I offered our goodwill to cultivate peace,” she said according to Reuters.
The junta has ignored calls from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), of which Myanmar is a member, to end violence and start dialogue with its opponents.
During the ASEAN summit in Laos last month, Paetongtarn called for heightened engagement with Myanmar, stressing that there is “no military solution” and that it is “time to start talking”.
She also hinted at Thailand’s support for the junta’s proposed election next year, a plan ASEAN has so far been reluctant to mention in official statements.
The proposed election has been widely condemned at home and abroad as a sham, and many believe that it is an attempt by the junta to legitimize its grip on power through the polls.
Thailand has also offered to host informal talks in December of ASEAN member states trying to find a way of resolving the Myanmar crisis.
Min Aung Hlaing has been barred from ASEAN summits for ignoring the bloc’s mediation efforts.
His trip to Kunming marks his first visit to China, a major ally and arms provider, and has alarmed many by conferring a degree of international credibility on the coup leader.
