At first glance, there is the opportunity for a ceasefire and to enable humanitarian aid to be delivered on a non-discriminatory basis. Yet, in recent days, the junta in power has shown its “mala fides” (bad faith) by continuing to bombard areas under opposition forces and by impeding the delivery of aid to areas controlled by dissident elements.

There should thus be a clarion call for and from the global community to counter this objectionable opportunism. There is a need to prevent those who are now in power in Myanmar from profiteering individually and systemically from the process, with robust monitoring of aid activities in the country.

On this front, Thailand’s current position is regressively more than ambivalent. The authorities of the country enabled the leader of  the junta from Myanmar to attend in person the most recent Summit of BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) in Bangkok, when the preferred position should have been to follow the precedent offered by the United Nations and ASEAN.

To date, the UN has not invited that junta leader to attend its key meetings, bearing in mind that there was a coup d’etat in Myanmar at the beginning of 2021 that was condemned worldwide.  

ASEAN has kept the junta leader formally at a distance, shunning the possibility of his presence at potential or actual ASEAN meetings, while tolerating lower key representation in various settings.

Are Thai leader(s) undermining the preferred position emanating from the UN and ASEAN? Inherently, the danger is that the so-called Thai national policy is based on personalized interests, clandestinely masticating voraciously, rather than national interests embodying a coherent national policy.