Myanmar military chief makes first foreign trip to Thailand as post-coup isolation eases
BANGKOK, Aug 20 — Thailand’s top general welcomed Myanmar’s military chief for talks today, the latter’s first foreign trip in office as his coup-staging armed forces shake off their pariah status.
Myanmar’s military ousted an elected government in a 2021 putsch, detaining its leader Aung San Suu Kyi and sparking a civil war in which it is accused of rampant rights abuses.
The post-coup leadership was isolated for five years but has started a diplomatic offensive, touting deeply restricted polls it staged around the start of 2026 as a return to normality.
After the elections, Min Aung Hlaing — who led the coup as armed forces chief — took over as civilian president, handing the office of military leader to staunch loyalist Ye Win Oo.
Today, Thai military chief Ukris Boontanondha greeted Ye Win Oo at a hotel in the capital Bangkok.
Their talks are expected to focus on the nations’ 2,400-kilometre border, where the war has seeded instability.
A former spymaster for Myanmar’s ruling junta, Ye Win Oo has been sanctioned by nations including the US for his role in the coup.
The ensuing civil war is estimated to have claimed 100,000 lives.
The international community is divided over how to deal with Myanmar since the elections.
Democracy watchdogs have derided the vote as a charade to rebrand military rule while excluding the popular Suu Kyi, sidelining her party and punishing dissenters with prison time.
But Thailand is among a band of neighbouring nations, sharing unavoidable border issues with Myanmar, which have used the polls as a cue to reset relations.
This month, Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul granted Min Aung Hlaing a red-carpet welcome in Bangkok.
Defending the decision to host, Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow told reporters: “It’s not about legitimacy, it’s about reality.”
But campaign group the Special Advisory Council for Myanmar said this week that “by embracing a warlord, Thailand has torched its credibility”.
The decision to also allow a visit from Ye Win Oo was “adding to its ignominy”, the statement added.
Last week, investigators from the United Nations said the military Ye Win Oo leads is escalating its aerial attacks on civilian targets.
The UN’s Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar’s annual report also documented a pattern of arbitrary detentions, torture and sexual violence committed by the military.
Myanmar’s government called the publication “one-sided allegations against Myanmar’s security forces based on unverifiable and inaccurate information”.
