Bangkok reaches out amid border trouble
Thailand is among the handful of countries that have embraced Myanmar’s pariah regime. The hug appeared to tighten on Thursday when Thai ambassador to Myanmar Mongkol Visitstump paid a call on junta foreign minister Than Swe to discuss closer collaboration in regional and international arenas.
The two also discussed cementing their countries’ friendship and enhancing cooperation in areas of mutual interest, according to junta media.
Myanmar’s military dictatorships have traditionally enjoyed close ties with the military-backed governments of Thailand. Thai military leaders met junta boss Min Aung Hlaing in Naypyitaw in late 2023 and early 2024. Thailand’s military chief General Songwit Noonpackdee held an online meeting with Min Aung Hlaing in January.
Junta air force chief Tun Aung, the top gun directing junta’s brutal aerial war, paid a goodwill visit to Thailand earlier this month at the invitation of his Thai counterpart, Air Chief Marshal Punpakdee Pattanakul. The two discussed the promotion of friendship and cooperation between their air forces.
The flurry of activity came after Karen armed groups and resistance allies attacked the trade hub of Myawaddy on the Thai border in April. Guns have since fallen silent in Myawaddy with junta troops reoccupying the town. Observers suspect the Thai government intervened over its concerns for border stability.
Min Aung Hlaing boosts atomic ambitions
The military regime formed a national-level committee in March to implement nuclear energy projects, according to a junta statement issued on April 26.
The 15-member committee is chaired by junta boss Min Aung Hlaing. Defense minister Tin Aung San serves as the panel’s vice-chairman while science and technology minister Dr. Myo Thein Kyaw is secretary. The committee is tasked with monitoring and guidance of nuclear programs, including budget planning and identifying sources of funding.
Nuclear technology and know-how are being supplied to the regime by its key ally, Russia. The two countries are implementing an agreement signed last year for cooperation on using nuclear technology for “peaceful purposes”. Aided by Russia, the regime opened the country’s first nuclear technology information center in Yangon in February last year.
Junta ministers have been regular guests at nuclear forums hosted by Russia. Just days after the national committee on nuclear energy projects was established, its secretary, Myo Thein Kyaw, attended the XIII International Forum ATOMEXPO 2024 in the Russian city of Sochi.
Second conscription drive snares hundreds of civilians
Men are being rounded up in junta strongholds like Yangon and Bago; the first round of 5,000 conscripts have reportedly already been sent to bases around the country. Read more
Hun Sen barred from meeting Daw Aung San Suu Kyi
In denying the ex-Cambodian leader’s request, the regime said it did not want to ‘disturb future processes’, referring to its widely criticized election plan. Read more
Ban on men leaving country for work eased
Issuance of papers to those aged 23-31 remains suspended amid the junta’s forced military recruitment campaign, however. Read more
