The leader of Thailand’s Move Forward Party (MFP), which won the general election last month, said his country now has a chance to restore peace to a Myanmar that has been politically and socially decimated by the 2021 coup.
Pita Limjaroenrat recently told Thailand’s Channel 3 that both the US and China seek stability in Myanmar.
Since 2021, the country has been immersed in violent strife as the junta cracks down on a widespread armed revolt against military rule. China is a big investor in Myanmar, and Thailand shares a 2,400-kilometer border with its neighbour, an important economic partner.
Pita, the MFP’s leader and possible prime minister, stated that his discussions with the US and China demonstrated that both governments want stability restored in Myanmar.
“Thailand possesses both the skill and the chance to make this happen.” “We can direct the leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries to work together to assist Burma,” he said.
Thailand’s proximity to Myanmar also provided an edge that other ASEAN countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia did not have, he added.
Thailand, as a neighbour, should invite ASEAN leaders to Myanmar roundtable discussions that would benefit the country.
“We [Thailand and Myanmar] share a border. If your neighbour feels cold, you will be affected as well.”
Thailand is under strain due to the influx of Myanmar refugees, as well as violence on its border between junta troops and opposition elements, as well as disruptions in border trade.
“We have to take care of them even though they are illegal migrant labourers because they are humans and we share the border,” Pita said of border-crossers.
The 42-year-old future Prime Minister has been a vocal critic of Thailand’s policies towards Myanmar, where the junta has bombed villages, schools, and clinics, killing both opposition fighters and civilians.
Pita stated his Myanmar stance at a post-election press conference on May 15, saying, “We want to go on to ensure the Five Point Consensus is truly achieved.” The consensus is the ASEAN peace plan for Myanmar, which was approved in the aftermath of the 2021 coup and deadly crackdown. The junta has disregarded the plan and has continued to massacre civilians.
Pita stated that the administration led by Move Forward would restore Thailand’s leadership role in ASEAN and try to reduce bloodshed in Burma.
“We will go on a humanitarian path, particularly with the passage of the Burma Act by the US Congress, which means we can begin working with the international community to provide the appropriate level of pressure and incentives for people to resolve their dispute.”
The Burma Act enables the United States to provide non-lethal assistance to Myanmar’s resistance forces.
Pita’s policy pronouncement on Burma, unsurprisingly, alarmed the government next door.
Shortly after the election result was announced, regime No. 2 Vice Senior General Soe Won directed his regional commanders to keep an eye on the border, saying, “The Move Forward Party is pro-West, and they will aid terrorists [resistance organisations active along the border]… We must monitor the border and gather information on their movements and activities.”