The United States and Myanmar's military government held secret talks in Tokyo recently, Reuters reported on the 16th, citing sources. It was the second meeting in a month, signaling that Washington is expanding contacts with a junta it had kept at arm's length since the 2021 coup.
A U.S. delegation of more than 10 officials, led by Michael Vance, assistant secretary at the State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research, attended the talks in Tokyo last week, the sources said. The Myanmar participants and the specifics of the discussions could not immediately be confirmed. Reuters reported that talks held last month in Naypyidaw, Myanmar's capital, focused on the release of an American businessman and the shutdown of scam compounds targeting Americans.
One of the main goals of the latest meeting was to secure Myanmar's cooperation in closing scam compounds that have cost Americans billions of dollars through romance scams and other fraud schemes, according to Reuters. Many of the operations are based in areas controlled by militias backed by the military, and some of the proceeds are believed to flow to the junta.
Reuters said some observers see the talks as an opening to discuss Myanmar's rare earth resources. Washington has shown interest in securing rare earths buried in Myanmar, suggesting it will deepen discussions on the issue with the military government.
U.S. officials are said to have discussed access to Myanmar's large deposits of heavy rare earths, minerals used in products ranging from electric vehicles to wind turbines. The United States is pursuing supply chain diversification to reduce its reliance on China for rare earths, but Myanmar's main deposits lie in areas controlled by ethnic armed groups fighting the military government. China, the main importer of Myanmar's rare earths, could also object to U.S. involvement. Hunter Marston, director for Southeast Asia at the Lowy Institute, an Australian think tank, said Myanmar's critical minerals and rare earths appear to be regarded as the most important strategic assets that interest the United States in the country.