Washington opens direct talks with Myanmar's junta chief, reversing years of isolation
The US has begun direct talks with Myanmar's military-installed government, according to Reuters, citing US officials and people familiar with the outreach. The focus is on shutting down scam centres that defraud Americans and possibly rare-earth deposits, with Min Aung Hlaing, still under US sanctions, central to the contact. Meanwhile, Malaysia is hosting him as it repatriates thousands of Myanmar nationals that the UN and rights groups warn face danger.
Bottom line — Min Aung Hlaing's engagements with Washington and Kuala Lumpur, despite sanctions and an airstrike that killed at least 58 people, show his international standing is being rebuilt.
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Reuters reports Michael Vance, an intelligence official, played a leading role, which analysts at the Council on Foreign Relations say is unusual because intelligence chiefs typically avoid steering policy.
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The State Department, via spokesperson Tommy Pigott, says it engages all groups in Myanmar and raises the need to cease violence and release political prisoners.
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Rep. Gregory Meeks, top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said the shift was contrary to US values and interests and accused Secretary Marco Rubio of ceding leadership.
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Reuters reports most US programmes supporting the opposition, including early-warning systems for airstrikes, were cut during Trump's foreign-aid overhaul last year, per four current and former officials.
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Reuters reports Myanmar's government hired lobbyists, with Roger Stone consulting for DCI Group, according to Foreign Agents Registration Act filings.
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Richard Horsey of the International Crisis Group said Malaysia's Anwar needs Naypyitaw's cooperation on refugees and that a visit is the price, adding Min Aung Hlaing will present it as recognition.
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Armed Conflict Location and Event Data warned that cooperation on refugee transfers could bolster the junta's international legitimacy; its analyst Sindy Ajara said returns risk lives, especially Rohingya.
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Malaysia says about 5,000 Myanmar nationals have agreed to staged repatriation, while 11,804 were held in detention depots as of end-August, per the Home Ministry.
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The Independent reports Malaysia classifies refugees as undocumented migrants and is not a signatory to the UN Refugee Convention; Anwar says Myanmar must take responsibility for its citizens.
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Reuters reports the civil war has killed an estimated 100,000 people and displaced more than 3.5 million, and that Anwar said he would invite Min Aung Hlaing if Myanmar accepted Rohingya returns.