By Panu Wongcha-um
BANGKOK, Aug 6 (Reuters) - Myanmar's junta chief turned President Min Aung Hlaing will make an official visit to Thailand on Thursday, as Bangkok makes a push for re-engagement between its war-torn neighbour and the regional bloc ASEAN.
Myanmar's leaders have been barred from summits of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations since 2021, when Min Aung Hlaing staged a coup against the elected government of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi that led to a civil war that has killed an estimated 100,000 people.
The retired general is the subject of a raft of Western sanctions and has been seeking international legitimacy since becoming Myanmar's president in April, which followed an election won overwhelmingly by an army-backed party in the absence of any viable opposition.
Thailand will be the fourth country Min Aung Hlaing has visited as president following official trips to China, India and Laos. He will meet Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul on Thursday, before both attend a Thailand-Myanmar business forum.
FINE LINE BETWEEN ENGAGEMENT AND ENDORSEMENT
Anutin said on Tuesday that Thailand's policy was "calibrated re-engagement" to keep channels open with Myanmar and push for its compliance with the terms of a stalled ASEAN-led peace initiative, a key condition in normalising its ties with the bloc.
Min Aung Hlaing as president has stressed his top priority is peace. However, Myanmar's military has since sharply escalated attacks on civilians including an intensified aerial bombing campaign, a conflict monitor said last week.
While Thailand's approach could strengthen its influence within ASEAN, it needs to avoid appearing to legitimise Min Aung Hlaing when there is no progress on ASEAN's peace plan, analysts say.
"What Thailand gains is a stronger role within ASEAN as a bridge between Myanmar's new government and ASEAN," said Dulyapak Preecharush, a Southeast Asia expert at Bangkok's Thammasat University.
"There is a fine line between re-engaging and endorsing Min Aung Hlaing's legitimacy."
On Monday, Myanmar's government allowed Suu Kyi, who has been detained since the coup, to meet a representative of the International Committee of the Red Cross after years of uncertainty over her health, wellbeing and whereabouts, a move Dulyapak said could support Thailand's argument for that engagement.
KEY INVESTOR
Min Aung Hlaing's visit also comes as Thailand seeks to revive its economic ties with resource-rich Myanmar, with Thursday's business forum expected to focus on trade and investment.
With investments in industries that include hotels, banking and manufacturing, Thailand is among the top foreign investors in Myanmar, ranking alongside Singapore and China as its primary sources of foreign capital as of late 2025.
Thailand's biggest footprint is in energy, a sector that accounts for nearly a quarter of foreign investment in Myanmar, with Thai energy major PTT Exploration and Production operating two of Myanmar's most important offshore gas fields, Yadana and Zawtika.
Thailand's trade surplus with Myanmar has narrowed sharply since the pandemic and the 2021 coup, with a steep decline in Thai exports while imports - predominantly natural gas - remained steady, according to Kich Aungvitulsatit, chairman of the Thai-Myanmar Business Council.
Thai exports to Myanmar were worth about 67 billion baht ($2.02 billion) in the first five months of this year, Kich said, compared with more than 800 billion baht annually before the pandemic, with exports squeezed by Naypyitaw's tighter forex controls and the impact of civil war on border trade.
"I see Min Aung Hlaing's visit as more of a gesture of goodwill," Kich said. "It is not likely to have a major direct economic impact."
(Reporting by Panu Wongcha-um, Additional reporting by Reuters staff; Editing by Martin Petty)
