BANGKOK: A plan by Myanmar’s ruling junta to hold an election amid raging fighting is expected to be discussed in talks on Thursday (Dec 19) between its foreign minister and counterparts from neighbouring countries, according to three sources.
Thailand is hosting two separate regional meetings on Myanmar this week, the first involving the war-torn country’s neighbours, including China, Bangladesh and India, followed by one comprising members of the ASEAN regional bloc.
The talks come as Malaysia next year takes over the chairmanship of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations that has failed to implement a peace plan in Myanmar, where escalating conflict is also impacting its neighbours.
Myanmar has been in turmoil since early 2021 when its military overthrew an elected civilian government and cracked down on ensuing pro-democracy protests, triggering a nationwide armed rebellion that has grown in strength.
Despite being battered on multiple frontlines, contending with a collapsing economy and dozens of political party banned, the junta is pushing to hold an election in 2025 – an exercise that has been widely derided as a sham by its critics.
The issue is expected to come up in talks in Bangkok on Thursday to be attended by Myanmar’s army-appointed Foreign Minister Than Swe, said three sources with knowledge of regional diplomacy.
They declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter.
“Myanmar wants to market the election,” one of the sources said. “They want legitimacy.”
A junta spokesman did not respond to calls from Reuters seeking comment.
China, which maintains close ties with the junta, has expressed support for a political transition in Myanmar and the 2025 election, while Thailand’s leader has called for heightened engagement with Naypyitaw ahead of planned polls.
