Myanmar Junta Talks: US Meets Generals Again in Tokyo

The Myanmar junta talks between Washington and the generals who seized power in 2021 just got a second round. The United States and Myanmar's military-backed government met in Tokyo last week, their second meeting in a month, according to a Reuters report carried by The Japan Times.

What we know about the Tokyo meeting

Three people with knowledge of the engagement disclosed the talks, including one U.S. official. All three asked for anonymity because of how sensitive the meeting was. It was not immediately clear exactly what the two sides discussed in Tokyo.

The earlier round took place in Naypyitaw, Myanmar's capital, in mid-September. Reuters reports those talks focused on freeing an American businessman and shutting down scam centers that target Americans. They could also pave the way for broader discussions, including on Myanmar's rare-earth mineral deposits.

The Daily Star, also citing the Reuters report, adds that the State Department did not respond to a request for comment but says it engages with all groups in Myanmar on issues affecting American interests. A spokesperson for the military-backed government did not respond either.

A coup leader goes on tour

The talks land while Min Aung Hlaing, the coup leader turned president, is on a charm offensive. Al Jazeera reports that Malaysia hosted him last week with a red carpet and honour guard, even though officials had insisted the visit did not amount to recognition, according to Al Jazeera.

Malaysia is the fifth ASEAN nation to host him since he became president in April, after an election held in December and January that major opposition parties were barred from. He has also visited Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos, plus India, China, Russia and Belarus.

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim pledged to help bring Myanmar back into ASEAN, the regional bloc that has kept Min Aung Hlaing out of its top meetings because he refused to carry out its peace plan. His spokesperson said Indonesia and Brunei could be next stops.

The war has not stopped

This is the part that makes critics furious. Monitoring groups say the civil war, now in its fifth year, has killed as many as one hundred thousand people and displaced at least three and a half million. Al Jazeera notes critics warn the embrace emboldens a military still bombing civilians.

Bridget Welsh of the University of Nottingham's Asia Research Institute said Malaysia's reversal has broken a dam of opposition to the junta. She argued the legitimacy it gains internationally is one it does not have inside Myanmar itself.

Why Gen Z should care

Scam centers are not an abstract problem. Compound operations in Southeast Asia run romance and crypto cons that hit young people online, and researchers say many are based in areas controlled by army-backed militia, with some proceeds flowing to the military. That raises doubts about whether Myanmar's leaders are serious about enforcement.

Rare earths matter too. They go into phones, electric vehicles and chips, which is why a quiet conversation about minerals can become a very loud geopolitical story. Trading engagement for scam crackdowns and a released prisoner might look like a win to some, and like a gift to a regime to others.

There is also the question of precedent. After the 2021 coup, Western governments mostly froze the generals out, and sanctions became the main tool. A second quiet meeting in a single month suggests the strategy is shifting from isolation toward bargaining, even if nobody in Washington will say so out loud.

Supporters of engagement argue that talking is the only way to free detained foreigners and squeeze scam compounds. Critics reply that every handshake hands the junta a photo op it can show to its own people, and that a government elected without its main opponents on the ballot has not earned that kind of welcome.

What to watch next

Watch for any official readout from Washington, which has so far stayed quiet, and for whether the sanctions picture shifts. Also watch whether Indonesia and Brunei roll out their own welcome mats. For more, browse our world coverage. However this plays out, the Myanmar junta talks show how fast a pariah can become a partner.