Min Aung Hlaing's Thailand visit boosts legitimacy push amid rights backlash

Bangkok,UPDATED: Aug 6, 2026 09:44 IST

Myanmar President Min Aung Hlaing arrived in Thailand on Thursday for a two-day official visit that could help his effort to regain political legitimacy more than five years after the military seized power from an elected civilian government. The visit includes talks with Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, the signing of several memorandums of understanding, and attendance at a Thailand-Myanmar Business Forum.

The trip comes as Min Aung Hlaing steps up outreach to countries in the region after years of diplomatic isolation following the 2021 overthrow of Aung San Suu Kyi's government. The visit has also drawn criticism from rights groups, which say the trip lends "false legitimacy" to Myanmar's military rulers even as fighting and arrests continue across the country.

Min Aung Hlaing took a major step in his political repositioning in April, when he was sworn in as president after an election held in phases in December and January. Critics dismissed the polls as a sham aimed at tightening the military's grip on power while appearing to restore civilian rule. His latest outreach is part of a wider push to rebuild ties with regional governments and the wider international community after relations turned strained following the February 2021 coup, when he was serving as army chief.

Western governments have shunned and sanctioned Min Aung Hlaing and his associates for removing Suu Kyi's government. A deadly military crackdown on protests was followed by serious rights violations, a nationwide armed resistance movement and a civil war. Since becoming president in April, Min Aung Hlaing has visited neighbouring countries including China, India and Laos, and has maintained close ties with Russia, but he has remained largely isolated internationally.

Even as he seeks to improve his image, Myanmar's military continues to fight pro-democracy resistance groups and ethnic armed organisations seeking greater autonomy. According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, an independent organisation that tracks arrests and casualties linked to the conflict, more than 8,200 civilians had been killed and 31,645 arrested by Myanmar's security forces as of Wednesday.

Activist groups have sharply criticised the visit. Justice For Myanmar said the trip gives "false legitimacy" to Min Aung Hlaing and the ruling generals. Last month, Fortify Rights senior human rights specialist Chit Seng said that changing from a military uniform into a "presidential robe" after fake elections does not change the basic nature of the government. He described it as a "brutal regime" that kills its own people and said it should not be legitimised.

In another move seen as an attempt to ease criticism, the regime allowed a representative of the Committee of the Red Cross to visit 81-year-old Suu Kyi this week. It was the first known contact she has had with an outside international independent humanitarian organisation since her detention. The ICRC confirmed the visit but gave no details about her health or the meeting.

Suu Kyi was originally sentenced to 33 years in prison in late 2022 on charges that her supporters and rights groups said were bogus and meant to keep her out of politics. On April 30, she was moved from prison to house arrest and her sentence was reduced to 18 years, leaving more than 13 years still to be served. The United Nations, Western governments and international human rights organisations have repeatedly called for her immediate release.

Min Aung Hlaing's Thailand visit is also part of his attempt to restore his standing within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. He faced years of diplomatic isolation after the 2021 takeover and was barred from top-level ASEAN meetings for failing to comply with a peace plan agreed in April 2021. Bangkok has kept close ties with Myanmar's military leadership and has become the strongest voice within ASEAN for renewed engagement with Naypyitaw.

Although the trip is officially focused on bilateral ties, Anutin said during a visit to Indonesia on Tuesday that a peaceful and stable Myanmar is vital for ASEAN unity and regional stability. He said Thailand had pushed for a "calibrated re-engagement approach" that keeps dialogue open and responds to "realities on the ground", and suggested that the recent ICRC visit to Suu Kyi supported that position. Fortify Rights specialist Thanida Piyachot rejected that view, saying that recognising Min Aung Hlaing as a legitimate leader and "shaking the bloodied hands of a war criminal" sends the wrong message to civilians living under an "illegitimate military dictatorship".

The Thailand visit brings together Myanmar's effort to rebuild regional ties, criticism from rights groups, and renewed focus on Suu Kyi's detention, while highlighting the wider debate within ASEAN over how to deal with Myanmar's military government.

With PTI Inputs

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