US begins direct talks with Myanmar's military-installed government

Mixed · 2The Trump administration has begun direct talks with Myanmar's military-installed government, according to US officials and others familiar with the outreach. This is a sharp reversal of Washington's efforts to isolate the generals after the 2021 coup. 1 2 Mixed · 2Michael Vance, the Assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence and Research, played a leading role. The outreach has focused on shutting down scam centres that target Americans but could lead to broader engagement, including on rare-earth minerals, according to seven current and former officials and others familiar with the shift. 1 2 Mixed · 2Vance joined talks with Myanmar leader Min Aung Hlaing in Naypyitaw on 15 and 16 September, the highest-level contact since the coup. The meeting aimed to secure the release of American businessman Adam Castillo and also opened the way to further engagement, four of the sources said. Vance's role had not been previously reported. 1 2

Mixed · 2Castillo, a former head of the American Chamber of Commerce in Myanmar, was detained at Yangon airport on 11 June on what his supporters described as trumped-up charges. Sources said White House, National Security Council and State Department officials held back-channel negotiations for his release, and one said Myanmar asked only for an official engagement at the right level with the US government. Castillo declined to comment beyond crediting President Donald Trump for his release. 2 1 Mixed · 2The meeting built on a June meeting in Tokyo, also involving Vance, in which officials from the Treasury Department, the Department of Homeland Security and the Pentagon reportedly took part. It is unclear who represented Myanmar. Vance has also met the democratic opposition and ethnic armed groups fighting the military, five sources said, and two sources said the FBI has had direct contact with Myanmar's authorities on cyber scams. 1 2 Mixed · 2Researchers say many scams run from militia-controlled areas, with some proceeds flowing to the military, which raises doubts about enforcement. US officials also discussed heavy rare earths but acknowledge obstacles: the deposits mainly lie in territory held by ethnic armies fighting the military, and China, the main importer, could see a US role as a challenge. 1 2

Mixed · 2Min Aung Hlaing, the former military chief, remains under US sanctions for human rights abuses, including the 2016-2017 killings and expulsions of Rohingya that Washington declared a genocide. Less than two weeks after Vance's visit, Myanmar's military bombed a crowded marketplace in Rakhine state, killing over 50 people, according to UN human rights officials. Min Aung Hlaing is seeking international legitimacy for his nominally civilian government. 1 2 Mixed · 2The State Department said it engages with all groups in Myanmar on issues affecting US interests and raises the need to end violence and release political prisoners. Spokesperson Tommy Pigott said: "You don't solve problems by ignoring them." Pigott declined to address Vance's role, saying the administration "operates as a team with the president as the lead." A spokesperson for the military-backed government did not respond to a request for comment. 1 2 Mixed · 2Critics object to both the policy and the process. Rep. Gregory Meeks, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, called the shift "contrary to both our values and our interests" and said Secretary of State Marco Rubio was giving the regime greater legitimacy. Richard Betts of the Council on Foreign Relations noted that intelligence chiefs do not typically steer policy because of concerns about analytic independence. 2 1

Mixed · 2Under Joe Biden, the US froze Myanmar's assets at the New York Federal Reserve and sanctioned senior officers and military-linked businesses. Congress authorised non-lethal support for the opposition in 2022, but most of those programmes were cut in Trump's foreign-aid overhaul last year. Myanmar's government has hired lobbyists in Washington, including Roger Stone, who began consulting in April for DCI Group on behalf of the Ministry of Information, according to Foreign Agents Registration Act filings. 1 2