PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — The leader of Myanmar’s military-backed government is visiting Cambodia to meet with its leaders in his latest effort to normalize relations with other members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, as critics warn the visit could weaken the bloc's collective efforts to address Myanmar’s conflicts.
Min Aung Hlaing has stepped up his engagements to normalize diplomatic relations and secure international legitimacy
since he was sworn in as president in April following an election that critics say was designed to cement the military’s hold on power.
The outreach is part of an attempt to rebuild regional ties that deteriorated after Min Aung Hlaing ousted Aung San Suu Kyi's government in February 2021 while serving as army chief.
Friday’s trip is Min Aung Hlaing’s fourth visit to an ASEAN member state as he seeks to restore his standing within the 11-member bloc, to which Myanmar and Cambodia belong.
Min Aung Hlaing faced years of diplomatic isolation following his 2021 takeover and was barred from top-level ASEAN meetings for failing to comply with the bloc's peace plan for Myanmar. The plan called for an end to violence, dialogue among all parties, mediation through an ASEAN envoy, humanitarian aid and access for the envoy to engage all relevant parties.
In his inauguration speech, Min Aung Hlaing pledged to restore normal engagement with ASEAN and to work to strengthen international relations.
He has traveled to India, China, Laos, Thailand, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Russia and most recently, Vietnam, where he met with leaders and sought to attract foreign investment through business forums.
State-run MRTV television said Min Aung Hlaing departed from the airport in the capital, Naypyitaw, for Cambodia on Friday morning.
He is expected to meet during his two-day visit with Hun Sen, the Cambodian Senate president, and other senior officials.
Cambodia played a notable role in ASEAN’s efforts to resolve conflicts in Myanmar especially in 2022, when then-Prime Minister Hun Sen, as the bloc's rotating chair, visited Naypyitaw and met with Min Aung Hlaing in an effort to revive peace talks, becoming the first foreign leader to visit Myanmar after the military takeover.
The Khmer Movement for Democracy, a movement formed by Cambodia’s opposition leaders in exile, condemned the visit Wednesday, saying it must not become another step in Min Aung Hlaing’s attempt to circumvent ASEAN’s diplomatic pressure on him.
“Min Aung Hlaing cannot be allowed to use Phnom Penh as a diplomatic back door into ASEAN,” Mu Sochua, the president of the KMD said in the statement. “He does not possess the democratic legitimacy that the red-carpet treatment of a head of state implies."
The human rights organization Fortify Rights called on Cambodia to cancel the visit rather than provide political legitimacy.
The group also urged Cambodian authorities to arrest Min Aung Hlaing and surrender him to the International Criminal Court if a warrant is issued, recalling that the court’s prosecutor requested an arrest warrant against him in 2024 over alleged crimes against humanity committed against Rohingya Muslims in western Myanmar.
