LUANG PRABANG, Laos, Jan 29, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - A senior Myanmar official met 
ASEAN foreign ministers in Laos on Monday, the junta-ruled country's first 
representative to attend a high-level meeting of the regional bloc in more 
than two years.

The Myanmar military seized power in a coup in February 2021, and in October 
that year the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) barred junta 
leaders from its summits and ministerial meetings, inviting the country to 
send "non-political" representatives instead.

Up to now Myanmar has refused, but Marlar Than Htike, a senior foreign 
ministry bureaucrat, is attending a foreign ministers' "retreat" in Luang 
Prabang, Laos.

The meeting comes just three days before the three-year anniversary of the 
coup, with the junta facing their most serious threat to power yet, as a 
coalition of armed ethnic groups make significant gains in the north.

Arriving at the opening ceremony, Marlar Than Htike refused to answer 
reporters' questions about Myanmar's presence at the meeting.

Earlier, she was seen talking with Thai Foreign Minister Parnpree Bahiddha-
Nukara and East Timor counterpart Bendito dos Santos Freitas.

Laos has the chair of ASEAN for the first time since 2016, with all eyes on 
whether the small nation can move the needle on the long-running issue of 
Myanmar.

ASEAN's diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis have been repeatedly 
stymied, with little progress made since 2021 when the bloc agreed on a five-
point peace plan.

Although last year's chair Indonesia hailed "positive" talks with the main 
sides in November, when the junta was represented by "interlocutors" -- 
according to a statement at the time.

However, friction between ASEAN members escalated over the former Thai 
government's decision last year to meet junta foreign minister Than Shwe. The 
kingdom shares a long border with Myanmar.

And earlier this month junta leader Min Aung Hlaing met with the Laotian 
special envoy of ASEAN, Alounkeo Kittikhoun, in the capital Naypyidaw.

Myanmar state media reported at the time that the two discussed "efforts of 
the government to ensure peace and stability".