Myanmar leader Min Aung Hlaing to make official visit to Thailand in early August

Myanmar's leader Min Aung Hlaing will make an official visit to Thailand next month, according to a Japanese media report published yesterday. The trip would mark his second visit to an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member state since taking office as president.

Visit Details

Citing "ASEAN sources," Kyodo News reported that the former general—who led the 2021 military coup—would travel to Thailand in early August. The sources "did not provide the detailed schedule of his visit to Thailand," according to the report.

Context of Engagement

The visit comes amid a campaign by Naypyidaw to normalize its relations with ASEAN and its member states.

Since late 2021, ASEAN has barred Myanmar's post-coup regime from attending its summits due to insufficient efforts to implement the Five-Point Consensus—the bloc's plan for resolving the country's conflict. Shortly after his election as president in April, Min Aung Hlaing pushed for normalization with outside partners, announcing that his new "civilian" administration intended to "enhance international relations and strive to restore normal relations" with the 11-nation bloc.

Recent Diplomatic Activity

• July 3–5: Min Aung Hlaing traveled to Laos—his first official trip to an ASEAN member state since taking office. He met with President Thongloun Sisoulith and signed several agreements, including one on space technology cooperation. The visit came one month after Lao Foreign Minister Thongsavanh Phomvihane visited Naypyidaw, one of several top ASEAN diplomats to do so since April.
• Last month: Min Aung Hlaing also paid high-profile official visits to India and China, which have now effectively recognized the legitimacy of his military-backed administration.

Thailand's Role

Within ASEAN, Thailand has been a key advocate of reengagement with Myanmar since late 2024, when it hosted an "informal consultation" in Bangkok attended by foreign ministers and high-level representatives from Myanmar's military junta and five neighbors: Laos, China, India, Bangladesh, and Thailand. Thailand also allowed junta leader Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing to visit for the BIMSTEC summit in April 2025.

These efforts have intensified since Myanmar's controversial election, held in three phases in December and January, which created the current military-dominated parliament. In February, Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow announced that his country wanted "to be a bridge connecting Myanmar back to ASEAN."

Thailand also hosted and helped broker an "informal meeting" between Myanmar Foreign Minister Tin Maung Swe and his ASEAN counterparts in Bangkok on Sunday—the first such meeting since the coup.

Stance on the Five-Point Consensus

After Sunday's meeting, Sihasak stated that Thailand, like ASEAN as a whole, still adhered to the Five-Point Consensus, which calls for an immediate cessation of violence in Myanmar and inclusive dialogue featuring "all parties" to the country's intersecting conflicts.

"This process of engagement does not mean any change in our basic position as reflected in the Five-Point Consensus, but it does mean achieving towards engagement, listening, and being realistic about what can be achieved," he said, as per Reuters.

Growing Opposition from Naypyidaw

At the same time, Myanmar's new government has toughened its stance against the Five-Point Consensus and become more vocal about its continued exclusion from ASEAN. Last week, the parliament passed a motion rejecting the Consensus as a form of interference by ASEAN that was inconsistent with the country's "political reality."

This view has been echoed by regime propaganda accounts on social media. "Until ASEAN respects its foundational principle of non-interference and acknowledges the realities surrounding Myanmar's newly elected government, no progress can be made," the Views of Myanmar account on X stated yesterday. "Myanmar will no longer accept a rigid, one-sided enforcement of the Five-Point Statement."

Outlook

With several ASEAN member states—including Malaysia, the Philippines, and Singapore—advocating a harder line on Myanmar, normalization is unlikely to occur without significant concessions or actions by authorities in Naypyidaw.

In addition to discussions about border security and efforts to combat transnational crime, Min Aung Hlaing's upcoming trip to Thailand will likely involve discussions about possible steps Myanmar's new government might take to advance normalization with ASEAN. Whether it is willing to make the concessions necessary to convince all ASEAN member states to bring it back into the fold remains unclear.