Myanmar military leader arrives in Malaysia as deportations draw criticism

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Min Aung Hlaing’s visit to Malaysia highlights the growing engagement between Myanmar and some governments in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, even as the regional bloc has continued to exclude the country’s leaders from top-level meetings since a 2021 military coup, which triggered armed resistance.

His visit comes four days after nearly 1,500 Myanmar nationals returned to Myanmar from Malaysia.

The UN high commissioner for refugees and rights groups has criticised the repatriations, saying the security and humanitarian situation in parts of Myanmar remains volatile and returnees could face persecution and forced military conscription in an active war zone.

Independent human rights monitoring group Armed Conflict Location and Event Data has warned that the meeting could help Mr Hlaing’s government bolster its international legitimacy through co-operation on the refugee issue.

“Without any meaningful action to resolve the civil war in Myanmar, the repatriation remains a risky move, putting immediate danger to the refugees’ lives, especially for Rohingyas,” Sindy Ajara, Asia-Pacific analyst at the group, said in a statement.

Malaysia says about 5,000 Myanmar nationals, including those returned on Sunday, have agreed to be repatriated in stages from Malaysia.

As of the end of August, 11,804 Myanmar citizens were being held at immigration detention depots across Malaysia, according to the Malaysian Home Ministry.

It was unclear if any of the returnees included minority Muslim Rohingya, who are facing persecution in Myanmar and have been denied citizenship.

Malaysia is home to about 215,600 refugees and asylum-seekers registered with the UN human rights agency, including about 126,000 Rohingya who make up one of south-east Asia’s largest refugee communities.