Myanmar seeks closer foreign ties amid global isolation

Myanmar coup leader Min Aung Hlaing wrapped up a three-day state visit on Sunday to Vietnam, where the Southeast Asian neighbors vowed to boost defense and security ties.

There was nothing unusual about the trip itself, except that it marked the ex-general's sixth official trip abroad since assuming Myanmar's presidency in April, when he was voted in by a parliament stacked with loyalists following military-run elections in December and January that were widely considered a charade.

As Myanmar's newly minted head of state, Min Aung Hlaing has been hosted by the leaders of India, China, Laos, Thailand, Russia and now Vietnam — six countries in five months. He'll be heading to Cambodia on Friday to make it seven.

"Since the December-January elections and Min Aung Hlaing's transition to president after giving up his role as commander-in-chief, he's really put a renewed focus on diplomatic partnership and trying to shore up the government's allies in the region,” said Hunter Marston, head of the Southeast Asia Program at the Lowy Institute, a Sydney-based think tank.

"Even if they're relatively short trips to regional friends and allies, I think it shows that there is an acceleration of Naypyitaw's strategy to diversify its partnerships and to normalize relations bilaterally,” he added, referring to Myanmar's capital.

To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video

Marston and other analysts told DW that Myanmar is slowly returning to the international stage, aiming to shed its pariah status despite the mountain of war crimes allegations leveled against the regime — some against Min Aung Hlaing himself.

Since Min Aung Hlaing's military toppled the democratically elected government of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi in 2021, civil war has killed some 100,000 people and displaced over 3 million.