Myanmar's Min Aung Hlaing Visits Cambodia in Bid to Rebuild ASEAN Ties
Min Aung Hlaing is in Phnom Penh for a two-day visit, his fourth to an ASEAN state since taking power in 2021, drawing criticism from rights groups.
The leader of Myanmar's military-backed government, Min Aung Hlaing, arrived in Phnom Penh on Friday for a two-day visit, continuing an effort to rebuild ties with fellow members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
State television reported that he landed at Techo International Airport in the Cambodian capital on Friday morning. He is expected to hold talks with Hun Sen, the Senate president, Prime Minister Hun Manet and other senior officials.
The trip is his fourth to an ASEAN member state as he works to restore his standing within the 11-member bloc, which includes both Myanmar and Cambodia. Since being sworn in as president in April following an election that critics say was designed to entrench the military's grip on power, he has stepped up engagements aimed at normalising diplomatic relations and securing international legitimacy.
The outreach is part of an attempt to rebuild regional ties that deteriorated after he ousted Aung San Suu Kyi's government in February 2021 while serving as army chief. He was subsequently barred from top-level ASEAN meetings for failing to comply with the bloc's peace plan for Myanmar, which 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 strengthen international relations. He has since travelled to India, China, Laos, Thailand, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Russia and, most recently, Vietnam, where he met leaders and sought foreign investment through business forums.
Cambodia has played a notable role in ASEAN's efforts to address Myanmar's conflicts, particularly in 2022, when then-Prime Minister Hun Sen, as the bloc's rotating chair, visited Naypyitaw and met Min Aung Hlaing in an effort to revive peace talks. He was the first foreign leader to visit Myanmar after the military takeover.
The visit has drawn criticism. The Khmer Movement for Democracy, formed by Cambodian opposition leaders in exile, condemned the trip on Wednesday, saying it must not become another step in Min Aung Hlaing's attempt to circumvent ASEAN's diplomatic pressure.
"Min Aung Hlaing cannot be allowed to use Phnom Penh as a diplomatic back door into ASEAN," said Mu Sochua, the group's president, adding that he "does not possess the democratic legitimacy that the red-carpet treatment of a head of state implies."
The human rights organisation Fortify Rights called on Cambodia to cancel the visit rather than provide political legitimacy. It 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.