Myanmar junta ‘losing strength’, Thai PM says: ‘it’s time to reach out and make a deal’

Myanmar is in the throes of an insurgency on multiple fronts, with the junta facing its biggest challenge since mounting a coup to seize power in 2021

But even if the generals ‘are losing, they have the power, they have the weapons’, Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said in an interview

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Myanmar’s junta spokesman General Zaw Min Htun speaks to the press during a ceremony to mark the country’s Armed Forces Day in Naypyidaw on March 27. Photo: AFP

Published: 3:38pm, 8 Apr 2024Updated: 3:57pm, 8 Apr 2024

Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin says now is a good time to open talks with Myanmar, as the military regime that seized power in a 2021 coup is weakening.

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.

“The current regime is starting to lose some strength,” Srettha said in an interview on the resort island of Samui on Sunday, adding, “but even if they are losing, they have the power, they have the weapons”.

“Maybe it’s time to reach out and make a deal,” he said.

Thailand’s Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin gestures during an interview in Koh Samui, Surat Thani province, on Sunday. Photo: Reuters

Thailand has been pursuing multiple engagements with Myanmar since Srettha came to power last August, including delivering aid to Myanmar under a humanitarian initiative aimed at paving the way for talks between warring camps.