BANGKOK – Myanmar junta chief-turned-president Min Aung Hlaing is scheduled to visit Cambodia from Sept 11 to 12, after a trip to Vietnam from Sept 4 to 6.

High-level sources in Phnom Penh confirmed the Cambodia dates with The Straits Times on Sept 3. While Phnom Penh was earlier reported to have extended an invitation to Myanmar, the dates for the visit haven’t been confirmed until now.

With these trips, Min Aung Hlaing will have visited four ASEAN states in three months. And Cambodia will be the eighth country he will visit since assuming the presidency earlier in 2026, as he seeks greater legitimacy and regional re-engagement.

These international trips come even as members of the Myanmar diaspora and activists stage protests outside Thailand embassies in cities like London, Seoul and Tokyo to urge Bangkok not to legitimise the Myanmar regime.

In mid-August, Phnom Penh had said that Min Aung Hlaing would be visiting the country in order “to strengthen the friendship between Cambodia and Myanmar”.

“Cooperation between the two countries is necessary and mutually beneficial,” Chea Thyrith, spokesperson for the Senate president, was quoted as saying in the Cambodian media.

Min Aung Hlaing, 70, has launched a diplomatic push to solidify his position following the junta’s 2021 coup. As president, he has made six official foreign visits thus far: an inaugural trip to India, followed by China, Laos, Thailand, Russia and Belarus.

These bilateral visits especially to ASEAN member states have elicited a slew of criticisms from righ...