BANGKOK – Myanmar’s junta chief turned President Min Aung Hlaing will make an official visit to Thailand on Aug 6, as Bangkok makes a push for re-engagement between its war-torn neighbour and the regional bloc ASEAN.

Myanmar’s leaders have been barred from summits of the Association of South-east Asian Nations (ASEAN) since 2021, when Min Aung Hlaing staged a coup against the elected government of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi that led to a civil war that has killed an estimated 100,000 people.

The retired general is the subject of a raft of Western sanctions and has been seeking international legitimacy since becoming Myanmar’s president in April, which followed an election won overwhelmingly by an army-backed party in the absence of any viable opposition.

Thailand will be the fourth country Min Aung Hlaing has visited as president following official trips to China, India and Laos.

He will meet Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul on Aug 6, before both attend a Thailand-Myanmar business forum.

Fine line between engagement and endorsement

Anutin said on Aug 4 that Thailand’s policy was “calibrated re-engagement” to keep channels open with Myanmar and push for its compliance with the terms of a stalled ASEAN-led peace initiative, a key condition in normalising its ties with the bloc.

Min Aung Hlaing as president has