Thai Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow met with Myanmar military regime leader Min Aung Hlaing in Naypyidaw on Nov. 12, pressing for de-escalation along their shared frontier and action on cross-border river pollution just days ahead of the 49th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Manila.
During his official visit—which also included bilateral talks with regime Foreign Minister Tin Maung Swe and Defence Minister Lieutenant General Yar Pyae—both sides emphasized the “close friendship” between the neighboring countries.
According to Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sihasak urged Naypyidaw to promote border security and stability, stressing the urgent need to protect Thai citizens living along the frontier and calling on the Myanmar military to exercise caution to prevent cross-border spillover from ongoing armed clashes.
Beyond immediate security concerns, the two sides addressed severe transboundary environmental degradation—specifically heavy metal and arsenic contamination in shared waterways such as the Sai, Kok, and Ruak rivers flowing from mining operations in Myanmar’s Shan State into northern Thailand’s Chiang Rai Province.
Both sides also reviewed border trade disruptions along the Mae Sot–Myawaddy corridor, energy cooperation, efforts to combat cross-border online scam syndicates, and labor protections for Myanmar migrant workers.
On regional diplomacy, Thailand reaffirmed its support for Myanmar’s internal peace process, urged concrete steps to reduce violence against civilians and expand humanitarian access—building on late-October humanitarian visits by ASEAN envoys—and encouraged Naypyidaw’s constructive re-engagement with ASEAN and the international community.
The talks come ahead of the 49th ASEAN Summit in Manila from Nov. 15 to 17, where the Philippines has confirmed that Myanmar’s senior regime officials, including Min Aung Hlaing, will remain barred for not implementing the regional bloc’s peace plan, known as the Five Point Consensus.
