LUANG PRABANG – Myanmar’s military junta, barred from sending political appointees to high-level Asean meetings since the 2021 coup, on Jan 29 sent a senior official to take part in the Asean Foreign Ministers’ Retreat in Laos.

Ms Marlar Than Htaik, permanent secretary of the Foreign Ministry under the control of the junta, represented Myanmar alongside Asean foreign ministers as the retreat began on Monday morning in Luang Prabang.

Myanmar’s seat had been left empty at Asean leaders’ and foreign ministers’ meetings after the coup.

The political and humanitarian crisis in Myanmar has deepened since the coup, with escalating military clashes in the north swelling its displaced population to 2.6 million as at the end of 2023.

Criminal syndicates have exploited the political vacuum created by the turmoil in Myanmar to ramp up the production of narcotics and run online scams targeting the region and beyond.

Asean has not been able to make much headway on its three-year-old blueprint towards a resolution in the country. The blueprint called for an end to violence in the country, the appointment of an Asean special envoy who would then meet with all relevant stakeholders, as well as the provision of humanitarian aid to Myanmar.

The current Asean special envoy on Myanmar, veteran Lao diplomat Alounkeo Kittikhoun, has held meetings with Myanmar junta leader Min Aung Hlaing as well as Ms Zin Mar Aung, Foreign Minister of the rival National Unity Government.

In view of the junta’s resistance towards Asean’s peace plan, the bloc had limited Myanmar’s representation at certain high-level meetings to non-political appointees, essentially shutting out Senior General Min Aung Hlaing and its Foreign Minister Than Swe.

The junta had responded by not sending a senior official in place, which meant that Myanmar was not represented at these meetings until now.