Myanmar Regime’s ‘Peace’ Overture Dismissed as PR Exercise

Myanmar’s ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) and observers warned that the expression of readiness for peace talks made by the regime during a meeting between its foreign minister and his visiting Malaysian counterpart this week was simply a PR exercise aimed at winning recognition from the international community, and did not reflect a genuine desire for peace.

They made the comments while speaking to The Irrawaddy about Malaysian Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan’s trip to Myanmar, during which the regime reportedly expressed readiness for peace talks with opposition groups.

Mohamad said the regime expressed readiness to seek a peaceful solution with opposition groups when he held talks with regime Foreign Minister Tin Maung Swe on Tuesday, according to Malaysia’s state-owned news agency Bernama.

“They [the regime] expressed readiness to discuss, readiness for them to see all parties sitting together,” he was quoted as saying.

“That is a new development, a positive development to me, if this can be done.”

Mohamad made the comments at a press conference at the Royal Malaysian Air Force base in Subang on the same day.

Myanmar has been in turmoil since the 2021 military coup that overthrew the democratically elected government, plunging the country into a nationwide war between the military and an alliance of long-standing ethnic armed groups and newly formed resistance forces.

Mohamad visited Naypyitaw, the regime’s capital, to assess the situation in Myanmar on Tuesday following the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Cebu, Philippines from May 6-8.

Myanmar regime leaders remain barred from attending ASEAN summits for failing to implement the bloc’s Five-Point Consensus, which includes ending violence and holding constructive dialogue among all parties concerned. It was agreed by coup leader Min Aung Hlaing during a special summit in Jakarta, Indonesia in April 2021.

The Malaysian foreign minister’s visit to Naypyitaw came after the regime blasted ASEAN for maintaining the snub.

Mohamad stated that Malaysia is ready to facilitate talks between the regime and the opposition, but cautioned against openly pressuring Naypyitaw.

He also used the meeting with his regime counterpart to reiterate ASEAN’s demand—under the Five-Point Consensus—to immediately halt violence against civilians, according to Bernama.

Colonel Naw Bu, spokesperson of the Kachin Independence Organization/Kachin Independence Army (KIO/KIA), told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday that “They [the regime] speak of peace, but in reality, military offensives are ongoing. Therefore, up until now, the regime’s words and actions simply don’t match.”

He added that whenever there is a dialogue that can bring about genuine political change in Myanmar, the KIO has a standing policy to attend peace talks, but the armed group had yet to see any real steps that could actually solve the country’s problem.

A veteran political analyst noted that if the regime was truly sincere about peace talks, it would have responded long ago to ASEAN’s call for it to engage with all parties to the conflict.

“In reality, the regime wants to resolve the crisis through ‘divide and rule’ tactics, seeking to crush some groups while securing ceasefires with others. This is a display of dishonesty,” he said.

“If the regime was honest, it wouldn’t exclude certain groups from the table. It would talk to everyone.”

The analyst also pointed out that during the quasi-civilian administration of U Thein Sein, peace offers were accompanied by ceasefire declarations. However, despite the current calls for peace talks, the regime is increasing troop deployments and intensifying offensives, further eroding the EAOs’ trust in it.

Speaking to The Irrawaddy, Debbie Stothard, founder and coordinator of the Alternative ASEAN Network on Burma, warned that “Various PR stunts not just by the regime’s foreign minister, but also fake president Min Aung Hlaing, calling for peace and peace talks, everyone knows their call for peace absolutely lacks credibility and sincerity.”

She said it was inevitable that ASEAN foreign ministers would visit and hold talks with the “illegitimate” regime, as the bloc is increasingly desperate over its failure to reduce violence amid the regime’s sham election and the installation of coup leader Min Aung Hlaing as president.

She noted that the junta increased its airstrikes in early 2026, leading to more civilian casualties.

“ASEAN understands the situation [in Myanmar] is not improving at all. So, they are desperately trying their best to find any way, any means to have some type of peace process and to reduce violence,” Stothard said.

She said if ASEAN is serious about ending the conflict in Myanmar, it should impose sanctions to stop the flow of weapons, jet fuel, technology and revenue to the regime, which continues to attack civilians, instead of meeting with regime officials in Naypyitaw.

The regime-turned-pseudo-civilian government in April invited all EAOs, including both signatories and non-signatories of the 2015 Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement, to join peace talks before July 31, while urging the People’s Defense Force (PDF), the armed wing of the National Unity Government, to surrender.

The PDF groups dominate Myanmar’s heartland, and are also active in territories elsewhere in the country.

At the same time, the regime has escalated attacks on PDFs and EAOs, attempting to retake lost territories.

Several EAOs, including ceasefire signatories such as the Karen National Union (KNU), Chin National Front (CNF) and All Burma Students’ Democratic Front (ABSDF), have rejected the regime’s call for peace talks, saying it was not genuine and they don’t trust it.

Speaking to The Irrawaddy in April, the CNF and KNU said they had absolutely no faith in the NCA path, noting that the military had destroyed the agreement and rendered it void.

The Steering Council for the Emergence of a Federal Democratic Union (SCEF), a high-level political and military alliance comprising the KIO/KIA, CNF/CNA, KNU, NUG, Karenni National Progressive Party/Karenni Army (KNPP/KA) and Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH), has also rejected the pseudo-civilian regime’s call for peace.

Responding to the offer in April, SCEF spokesman U Aung San Mying told The Irrawaddy the coup leader’s call for peace was merely an attempt to gain recognition and legitimacy from the international community, adding that Min Aung Hlaing does not have a genuine, sincere desire to achieve real peace.

“The main objective of our revolutionary forces is to root out the military dictatorship. The regime that seized power is an illegitimate government. It is highly inappropriate for someone [Min Aung Hlaing] who unlawfully took power and appointed himself as president through military-organized election by coercing the public to use the word ‘peace’ with us,” he said.

Spokespersons for the CNF, KNU and SCEF could not be reached for comment on the talks between the regime and the Malaysian foreign minister this week.