US holds more secret talks with Myanmar's military-backed rulers in Tokyo

The US and Myanmar's military-backed government held talks in Tokyo last week, people familiar with the matter said, their second meeting in a month as Washington steps up re-engagement with the generals it shunned after their 2021 coup.

Earlier talks in Myanmar's capital Naypyitaw in mid-September focused on securing the release of an American businessman and shutting down scam centers that target Americans, but could pave the way for broader discussions, including on Myanmar’s rare-earth mineral deposits, Reuters previously reported.

It was not immediately clear exactly what the two sides discussed at last week's talks, disclosed to Reuters by three people with knowledge of the engagement. The people, including one US official, all requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the meeting.

US Assistant Secretary of ​State for Intelligence and Research Michael Vance again led the Tokyo talks, which involved more than a dozen US officials, one of the people said. Reuters could not establish who represented Myanmar.

The State Department did not respond to a request for comment on the latest talks, but says it engages with all ⁠groups in Myanmar on issues affecting US interests. A spokesperson for Myanmar's military-backed government did not ​respond to a request for comment.

Asked about its role in hosting the talks, Japan's Foreign Ministry said in an emailed statement it had been "communicating as necessary" with both sides but declined to comment on specific diplomatic exchanges.

Last month's meeting in Naypyitaw between Vance and Myanmar's coup leader-turned-president, Min Aung Hlaing, provided an opening for broader discussions, people familiar with those talks previously told Reuters. The quick return to the negotiating table in Tokyo suggests both sides are keen to keep the dialogue going.

A major focus of the US push is securing Myanmar's help in shutting down scam hubs that run romance and other frauds and have swindled Americans out of billions of dollars, the people said.

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Researchers say many scam operations are based in areas controlled by army-backed militia, with some proceeds flowing to the military, raising doubts about whether Myanmar's leaders are serious about enforcement. Myanmar's military-backed government has said it is participating in a multinational effort to curb scam centres.

US officials have also discussed access to Myanmar's large deposits of heavy rare earths, which are used in products ranging from electric vehicles to wind turbines. US officials acknowledge significant obstacles: the deposits are largely located in territory controlled by ethnic armed groups fighting the military, while China, the main buyer of Myanmar rare earths, could balk at any US role.

The US last week lifted sanctions on the daughter of a Myanmar businessman accused of supporting the country's military, saying the move was part of a new approach to the country.

"This approach highlights the importance of pursuing dialogue with all groups involved in Burma’s civil war and commits to re-examining the range of tools the United States has historically leveraged to promote core interests in the country," the State Department said of the sanctions move.

Min Aung Hlaing remains under US sanctions for human rights abuses, including for his role in the coup and crushing a subsequent popular uprising, and the 2016-2017 mass killings and expulsions of Rohingya Muslims that Washington declared a genocide. The armed forces have killed thousands of people in airstrikes since the putsch, which sparked widespread civil war, the United Nations says.

The latest engagements in Japan show the Trump administration views Myanmar through a "purely transactionalist lens," said Hunter Marston, Southeast Asia director at the Lowy Institute, an Australian think tank.

"The critical minerals and rare earths that Myanmar holds are viewed as probably the chief strategic asset that Washington is interested in within Myanmar," Marston said.

Japan's role unclear

It is unclear whether Japan has any stake in the US-Myanmar talks beyond playing host, including for earlier talks in the Japanese capital in June, but there are signs that Tokyo is also moving to re-engage with Myanmar.

Japan's acting envoy to Myanmar met with the foreign minister of Myanmar's military-backed government earlier this month in their first known public engagement. Tokyo does not formally recognise the administration.

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That meeting followed a September visit by Japanese ruling party lawmaker Hiromichi Watanabe to Naypyitaw, which he said was aimed at restarting bilateral cooperation and resuming development aid to Myanmar, according to the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper.

Japan's Foreign Ministry said the acting envoy raised issues such as protection for Japanese nationals and support for Japanese companies, while Watanabe's trip was in his capacity as an individual member of parliament and "does not in any way prejudge" the position of the government.

Watanabe told Reuters his trip was aimed at preparing the environment to normalise relations, though he acknowledged that barriers remained.

Japan condemned the military's 2021 overthrow of Aung San Suu Kyi's elected government but stopped short of joining the US and other Western governments in imposing sanctions on junta leaders and military-linked entities.

Tokyo was one of Myanmar's largest foreign investors, seeking to counter China's influence in one of Asia's last frontier markets. Unlike numerous Western firms, many Japanese companies remained despite the turmoil that followed the 2021 coup.

Around 300 Japanese companies still operate in Myanmar, down from more than 400 in 2020, according to Japan's trade promotion agency, JETRO.