Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen on Friday became the first foreign leader to visit Myanmar and meet the regime’s leader, Min Aung Hlaing, since the military overthrew the country’s elected government in February last year.
The two leaders discussed bilateral relations in a 140-minute meeting in the capital of Naypyidaw, according to Myanmar military spokesperson Zaw Min Tun. They agreed that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ special envoy — Cambodia holds the rotating ASEAN chair this year — could be involved in the Myanmar peace process.
The army’s takeover followed Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy’s second consecutive landslide victory at the polls in 2020, which the military refused to recognize citing unsubstantiated allegations of voter fraud. The ensuing political crisis has morphed into an escalating civil war after security forces killed over 1,000 peaceful protesters.
