Luang Prabang, Laos — A senior Myanmar official met ASEAN foreign ministers in Laos on Monday, the junta-ruled country’s first representative to attend a high-level meeting of the regional bloc in more than two years.

The Myanmar military seized power in a coup in February 2021, and in October that year the Association of Southeast Asian Nations barred junta leaders from its summits and ministerial meetings, inviting the country to send “non-political” representatives instead.

Up to now Myanmar has refused, but Marlar Than Htike, a senior foreign ministry bureaucrat, is attending a foreign ministers’ “retreat” in Luang Prabang, Laos.

The meeting comes just three days before the three-year anniversary of the coup, with the junta facing their most serious threat to power yet, as a coalition of armed ethnic groups make significant gains in the north.

Arriving at the opening ceremony, Marlar Than Htike refused to answer reporters’ questions about Myanmar’s presence at the meeting.

Earlier, she was seen talking with Thai Foreign Minister Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara and East Timor counterpart Bendito dos Santos Freitas.

Laos has the chair of ASEAN for the first time since 2016, with all eyes on whether the small nation can move the needle on the long-running issue of Myanmar.

ASEAN’s diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis have been repeatedly stymied, with little progress made since 2021 when the bloc agreed on a five-point peace plan.

Although last year’s chair Indonesia hailed “positive” talks with the main sides in November, when the junta was represented by “interlocutors” — according to a statement at the time.

However, friction between ASEAN members escalated over the former Thai government’s decision last year to meet junta foreign minister Than Shwe. The kingdom shares a long border with Myanmar.

And earlier this month junta leader Min Aung Hlaing met with the Laotian special envoy of ASEAN, Alounkeo Kittikhoun, in the capital Naypyidaw.

Myanmar state media reported at the time that the two discussed “efforts of the government to ensure peace and stability.”

WITH AFP