Myanmar junta chief meets foreign leaders, UN says military choking aid

By Devjyot Ghoshal and Panu Wongcha-um

BANGKOK (Reuters) -Myanmar's ostracised junta chief met the leaders of India and Thailand during a regional summit in Bangkok on Friday, and the U.N. said his military was limiting humanitarian aid following the earthquake that killed over 3,100 people amid civil war.

Shunned by most world leaders since leading a 2021 coup that overthrew an elected government and ignited nationwide conflict, Min Aung Hlaing's rare foreign trip exploits a window opened by the earthquake to ramp up diplomacy.

On the sidelines of the BIMSTEC summit, Min Aung Hlaing had two-way meetings with Thai premier Paetongtarn Shinawatra and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with recovery from the quake a common topic.

With a protracted civil war ravaging Myanmar since the coup, Modi called for a post-earthquake ceasefire in the country of 55 million people to be made permanent, an Indian foreign ministry spokesman said.

"Political resolution to the conflict is the only way forward, starting with inclusive and credible elections," spokesman Randhir Jaiswal said in a post on X.

Myanmar's junta announced a temporary ceasefire on Wednesday until April 22 in operations against armed opponents, reflecting moves by a rebel alliance and a shadow government that includes parts of the previous administration.

The U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said the junta was restricting aid supplies to quake-hit areas where local communities did not back its rule.

It also said it was investigating 53 reported attacks by the junta against opponents, including airstrikes, of which 16 were after a ceasefire on April 2.

A junta spokesman did not respond to calls from Reuters seeking comment.

'TRAGIC MOMENT'

The death toll from last Friday's 7.7-magnitude earthquake climbed to 3,145, with more than 4,500 injured and more than 200 still missing, the junta said.

"The earthquake has supercharged the suffering, with the monsoon season just around the corner," U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told reporters on Thursday, referring to the civil strife unleashed by the 2021 coup.

"I appeal for every effort to transform this tragic moment into an opportunity for the people of Myanmar."

United Nations aid chief Tom Fletcher was set to arrive in Myanmar on Friday, followed by a visit by Julie Bishop, the United Nations' special envoy for the country.

Myanmar's neighbours, such as China, India and Southeast Asian nations, are among those that dispatched relief supplies and rescuers to aid the recovery effort in quake-hit areas that are home to about 28 million people over the past week.

Extreme heat and forecast heavy rain could cause disease outbreaks among earthquake survivors camping in the open, as the risk of cholera grows in such areas, namely Mandalay, Sagaing and the capital of Naypyitaw.

Even before the quake, millions had suffered in Myanmar's widening civil war, triggered by the coup that ousted the government of Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.

It has decimated the mainly agrarian economy, driven more than 3.5 million people from their homes and crippled essential services such as healthcare.

ELECTION PUSH

On the sidelines of the BIMSTEC summit in Bangkok, Min Aung Hlaing with met the prime minister of Nepal, India and Thailand.

The BIMSTEC, or the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation, grouping also includes Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Bhutan.

The junta leader's discussions with the Thai prime minister included disaster prevention and transnational crime, Thai officials said.

Thailand's foreign ministry said the Thai and Malaysian foreign ministers would visit Myanmar on Saturday.

At the summit, Thai premier Paetongtarn urged the group to forge a free trade agreement and to cooperate on completing a highway connecting Thailand, Myanmar and India, the Thai government said.

In his meeting with the junta chief, India's Modi pushed for an early restoration of the democratic process in Myanmar, including through credible and inclusive elections, Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said.

Before the quake, Myanmar's junta had been pushing ahead with a plan to hold a general election in December, though critics have derided this as a sham to keep the generals in power through proxies.

"Min Aung Hlaing's recent state visits to China and Russia have created new incentives for India to dial up its own engagement," Singapore-based analyst Angshuman Choudhury said.

"Moreover, under Modi, India has pitched itself as a humanitarian first responder in the region – so post-earthquake disaster relief becomes an easy pivot for a direct meeting."

(Reporting by Bangkok Bureau; Additional reporting by Shoon Naing, Shivam Patel, Tanvi Mehta and Olivia Le Poidevin; Writing by Devjyot Ghoshal; Editing by Clarence Fernandez, Gareth Jones and Timothy Heritage)