JABAR EKSPRES – Several times the Thai government has acted outside the ASEAN agreement on the solution to the Myanmar crisis, by inviting the Myanmar junta without involving other stakeholders, especially the opposition that won the 2020 elections ousted by the junta that formed the National Unity Government (NUG).
It was PBS Thai who first called Thailand’s move a sabotage of ASEAN’s joint efforts to find a peaceful solution in Myanmar.
However, the current Thai government, made up of the military that often overthrows democratically elected governments, is indeed closely related to the Myanmar military, commonly called the Tatmadaw.
On January 19-21 this year, Thailand took a step that upset ASEAN when Defense Minister Chalermphon Srisawasdi met with Myanmar junta leader Min Aung Hlaing.
The meeting was held in Rakhine, which caused an uproar several years ago after nearly 700,000 Rohingya were forced to flee the state, while thousands more were executed by Myanmar security forces and their allies.
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The two Thai-Myanmar military officials met under the cover of a high-level commission that has become a standard mechanism in the military relations between the two countries.
However, the meeting not only slapped ASEAN but also caused various circles in Thailand to be suspicious because it was held shortly after the assets of Min Aung Hlaing’s children and cronies were seized by Thai law enforcement after being involved in drug smuggling.
According to PBS Thai, Thai police found a luxury condominium and passbooks belonging to Pyae Sone and Khin Thiri Thet Mon, the sons and daughters of Myanmar junta leader Min Aung Hlaing, during a search of Tun Min Latt’s home on January 11.
Tun Min Latt, who was an arms broker for the Tatmadaw, was arrested in September last year. He was said to be partnered with a Thai businessman who was familiar with a Thai senator.
