Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, is a nation where many of the ghosts of its past still haunt daily life. Isolated for decades by an authoritarian regime, it seemed a decade ago that the country was beginning to take steps towards opening up to tourism and foreign diplomacy, until a new military coup scuppered those plans. Since 2021, that military coup government has been locked in a civil war with rebel groups. A war silenced from the world's view, but one that has claimed more than 100,000 lives in five years.
ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) sent Thailand's Foreign Minister, Sihasak Phuangketkeow, as a negotiator to meet separately with envoys from the government and the rebel groups, and the prospects are good for securing at least a ceasefire whilst talks resume through official channels; however, according to Reuters sources, neither side sees an end to the military conflict.
Securing ASEAN's approval for an agreement between the various warring factions would represent a major diplomatic and conciliatory step for the Southeast Asian country. Among the first steps towards restoring relations is organising a meeting and the subsequent release of Myanmar's former State Counsellor, Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been detained since the military coup.