Description: The foreign ministers of ASEAN will hold an informal meeting with their counterpart from Myanmar on Jul 12 in Bangkok, according to the foreign ministries of Thailand and Vietnam. The announcement arrives after months of diplomatic campaigning by China and Thailand to integrate the illegitimate military junta government in Myanmar back into the alliance of Asian countries. Myanmar’s President, General Min Aung Hlaing, conducted an official visit to Laos last week which came on the back of an official summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, early last month. China and Thailand have invested considerable diplomatic capital in legitimizing the junta’s government in recent months following five years of civil war in the country.
Impact: The informal meeting of the foreign ministers from ASEAN with their counterpart from Myanmar is likely a prelude towards further legitimization of the junta’s leadership in the country and comes as a result of China’s vested energy and capital project interests in Myanmar. Thailand’s engagement and campaigning to reintegrate Myanmar into the ASEAN likely stems from the fact that Thailand shares a 2,416 kilometers border with Myanmar and regional stability becomes priority opposed to the continuation of the civil war in the country. The meeting highly likely represents a political measurement engagement where ASEAN countries could assess whether Myanmar’s junta has any chances at legitimizing their rule in the country. The resolution to the civil war strongly relies on China’s engagement as Beijing has been heavily involved in polarizing and controlling the conflict since its outset.