Investment, energy sector talks to dominate Myanmar junta leader’s visit to Thailand

Myanmar junta chief Min Aung Hlaing will discuss investment, trade, border stability, and energy cooperation during his two-day visit to Thailand beginning on August 6, according to the regime, with Thailand’s continued role in Myanmar’s gas sector expected to be high on the agenda. The visit comes less than a week after the junta signed a Domestic Gas Supply Agreement (DGSA) with Thailand’s PTTEP International Limited for gas from the M-3 offshore block, also known as the Aung Theinkha project. The regime says production is expected to begin in late 2028, with the gas earmarked for domestic electricity generation and fertiliser production. Junta spokesperson Khaing Khaing Soe told Myanmar Now that ministers from relevant ministries would accompany Min Aung Hlaing and that energy would be among the sectors discussed, although she declined to provide details. The agreement reinforces PTTEP’s long-standing position as one of the largest foreign investors in Myanmar’s offshore gas industry. Gas exports have remained one of the junta’s biggest sources of foreign currency since the 2021 coup. Ahead of the visit, Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said Thailand supports renewed engagement with Myanmar through dialogue while continuing to recognise ASEAN’s Five-Point Consensus as the framework for addressing the country’s crisis. He said such engagement should encourage practical progress while responding to realities on the ground. Independent human rights advocacy group, Justice For Myanmar (JFM), however, urged Thailand to end what it described as complicity in the junta’s international crimes. The group said PTTEP’s continued partnership with the junta-controlled Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise helps generate revenue for the military, while payments routed through foreign currency accounts in Thai banks allow the regime continued access to the international financial system despite sanctions on Myanmar state-owned banks. JFM called on Thailand to cut financial and energy ties that it says sustain the junta’s operations. The visit has also drawn criticism from Thai lawmaker Kannavee Suebsang. In a social media post, he said there were no signs the Myanmar military regime had changed course after more than five years of mass killings and forcing millions of people to flee, many of them into neighbouring countries, particularly Thailand. Rohingya activist Tun Khin, president of the Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK (BROUK), also condemned the visit. Ahead of Min Aung Hlaing’s arrival, BROUK asked the Argentinian judiciary to seek the junta chief’s extradition from Thailand under an arrest warrant issued by an Argentine court in 2025. Tun Khin said Thai authorities should cooperate with Argentina to arrest and extradite Min Aung Hlaing to stand trial on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity, rather than welcome him on an official visit.