Beyond the Mekong | Diplomacy | Southeast Asia
A conversation with Mark Cogan of Kansai Gaidai University in Osaka.
As the people of Myanmar recently commemorated the 8888 uprising that demanded political freedom but was brutally put down in August 1988, Thailand was playing host to Min Aung Hlaing, the former general who seized power through a coup in early 2021.
This was Min Aung Hlaing’s second official visit to an ASEAN member state since military-staged elections in December and January ensured his transition to the presidency and one that widened the schisms within ASEAN, which has barred Myanmar from official summits and events amid a bloody civil war.
Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul broke with that line despite ASEAN protocols and potential legal issues given the International Court of Justice will soon deliver its verdict on whether Min Aung Hlaing and Myanmar’s senior generals committed a genocide against the Rohingya.
