BANGKOK, Sept 19 (Askume) – Thailand wants to work with Myanmar’s warring parties to repair a key highway through the conflict-torn country to stabilise border areas and maintain trade, Foreign Minister Maris Sanjanaponsak said on Thursday.
He told reporters that Thailand has received support from the ASEAN regional grouping and India in rebuilding parts of the Asia Highway 1 (AH-1) damaged in recent fighting.
He said Laos, the current chair of the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations, also asked Thailand to hold a regional meeting on Myanmar before the end of the year. However, he did not give any details about the matter.
“I think the problems in Myanmar cannot be solved militarily, but can be solved through constructive dialogue,” Maris said.
Myanmar has been in turmoil since February 2021, when powerful generals ousted the elected civilian government, sparking a protest movement that eventually turned into an armed rebellion against the ruling junta.
The military junta lost control of much of the country and the economy was paralyzed.
ASEAN banned the generals from attending the summit until progress is made on a 2021 peace plan drawn up by the group, which the junta agreed to but failed to follow through on. The agreement involves negotiations between the parties to the conflict.
The AH1 is an important trade route that stretches more than 1,500 kilometres (932 mi) from Myawaddy on the Thai–Myanmar border to Tamu on the Myanmar–India border.
The area around Myawaddy was previously a border trade route worth more than $1 billion a year, but fierce fighting broke out earlier this year as rebels drove the junta out of the border town.
