Thai PM says sensitive issues at play in Myanmar dialogue, must address all sides

BANGKOK (Reuters) -There were sensitive issues in initiating talks between Myanmar’s junta and anti-junta groups, Thailand’s Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said after a cabinet meeting that discussed the escalating conflict in its neighbouring country.

“We must speak to all sides,” he said.

Myanmar is in the throes of an insurgency on multiple fronts, with allied anti-junta groups backed by a pro-democracy parallel government seizing control of several military posts and towns, including parts of a key town on the border with Thailand over the weekend.

The insurgency is the biggest challenge the Myanmar junta has faced since it mounted a coup against an elected government in 2021.

Last week, anti-junta forces attempted coordinated drone attacks on military facilities in Myanmar’s capital, a potential blow to the well-equipped military’s credibility.

The regime in Myanmar was “losing strength” Srettha told Reuters in an interview earlier this week and that it was a good time to initiate talks.

Earlier on Tuesday, Thai Foreign Minister Parnpree Bahiddha-nukara said Thailand remains neutral in the Myanmar conflict and is able to accept up to 100,000 people displaced by the turmoil. He urged warring groups to engage in negotiations for peace.

Thailand, which shares a 2,000-km land border with Myanmar, has been pursuing multiple engagements with Myanmar since Srettha took office last August, including delivering aid under a humanitarian initiative aimed at paving the way for talks between warring camps.

Thai lawmakers last month held a seminar on the political situation in Myanmar that include appearances of opponents of the Myanmar’s military, despite the junta’s objection.

(Reporting by Panarat Thepgumpanant, Chayut Setboonsarng and Panu Wongcha-um, Editing by Kanupriya Kapoor)