Thailand Breaks Myanmar's Isolation, Calling Engagement "Not About Legitimacy; It's About Reality"

After five years of isolation, Myanmar's junta is winning regional re-engagement. Thailand hosted President Min Aung Hlaing — who led the 2021 coup — for a red-carpet visit in August 2026, with its foreign minister framing the outreach as "not about legitimacy; it's about reality." UN experts dismissed Myanmar's 2026 elections as a "sham." The civil war has killed over 100,000.