Irrawaddy-July 6
It must be embarrassing for Myanmar regime chief Min Aung Hlaing when the top diplomat from the foreign country he relies upon most declines to pay him a visit—particularly if the diplomat is already in Myanmar. But that’s exactly what happened over the weekend and early this week, as visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi failed to meet with Min Aung Hlaing during his stay in Myanmar. Wang, the most senior Chinese diplomat to visit Myanmar since the coup last year, arrived in the country’s UNESCO World Heritage Site of Bagan in Mandalay Region on Saturday and co-chaired the 7th Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Foreign Ministers’ meeting on Monday. During his three-day visit, the most senior junta official he met was not regime chief and self-appointed Prime Minister Min Aung Hlaing, but Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin, according to China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The lack of a meeting between Wang and the coup leader is notable, given that Beijing has not only refused to denounce Min Aung Hlaing’s coup but has acted, along with Russia, to provide diplomatic cover at the UN for the junta, which has killed more than 2,000 people since the takeover. The last time Wang met Min Aung Hlaing was in January last year during the minister’s visit to Myanmar a few weeks before the February 2021 coup. But the meeting was not repeated this time. Min Aung Hlaing has been ostracized internationally since the coup for his bloody response to protesters against his regime. He has even been barred from attending summits by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), of which Myanmar is a member state.
Internationally, his regime has received very little recognition and many countries have kept their distance from it. They fear meetings with the coup leader could be used as PR tools by the regime, which craves legitimacy. Read more at: https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/chinese-foreign-minister-snubs-myanmar-junta-chief.html
