Appeasing the Myanmar Junta in the Face of Atrocity

As the Myanmar junta’s brutal war against its own people rages on—and as the country reels from the devastating earthquake that has deepened its humanitarian crisis—recent moves by regional actors, particularly the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Myanmar’s neighbors, have made one thing disturbingly clear: the people of Myanmar are once again being abandoned in favor of a failed strategy of appeasement.

This week, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim of Malaysia—the current ASEAN chair—is set to meet junta chief Min Aung Hlaing in Bangkok. Officially, the meeting is to discuss humanitarian aid and the safety of Malaysian aid workers following the earthquake, as well as a so-called “ceasefire” that has never existed—merely a manipulative fabrication by the junta leader. But this is not a humanitarian-driven move. It is the latest sign of a deeper, more troubling pivot.