Earthquake-hit Myanmar's junta chief to head to Bangkok for BIMSTEC summit

Six days after a deadly earthquake rocked the nation ruled by his armed forces, the head of the Myanmar junta is scheduled to travel to Bangkok on Thursday for a regional conference. Min Aung Hlaing will address the response to Friday's 7.7-magnitude earthquake that killed around 3,000 people during a BIMSTEC meeting, which is attended by the seven littoral states of the Bay of Bengal.

Since the earthquake, numerous countries have dispatched teams of rescue workers and relief to Myanmar; however, operations have been impeded by the country's raging civil war, severely damaged infrastructure, and intermittent communications.

Since 2021, when Min Aung Hlaing's military overthrew Aung San Suu Kyi's civilian government, Myanmar has been embroiled in a bloody war. The junta joined its opponents on Wednesday in asking for a temporary pause to hostilities so that help could be provided, following reports of intermittent confrontations even after the recent earthquake.