Thailand offers backing for Myanmar's bid to normalise ASEAN ties

Thailand wants to play a leading role in Myanmar's bid to normalise its ties with Southeast Asian bloc ASEAN after five years on the sidelines, the Thai foreign minister said ahead of a meeting on Wednesday with new President Min Aung Hlaing.



Former military chief Min Aung Hlaing led a 2021 coup that ended a decade of tentative democracy in Myanmar and sparked chaos and a civil war, prompting an intervention by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the exclusion of the then ruling generals from its summits.



Min Aung Hlaing, 69, was chosen as president by parliament on April 3, formalising his grip on power after a recent election that was dominated by an army-backed party in the absence of viable opposition.



The conflict in Myanmar has long frustrated ASEAN, with some members openly critical of the generals for paying only lip service to the bloc's demands for progress on a peace plan that requires all sides to cease hostilities and start dialogue.