Myanmar wants to be an observer at the Thai-US Cobra Gold war games and has sought help from Thailand to negotiate with Washington.

Defence Minister ACM Sukumpol Suwanatat yesterday said he paid courtesy calls on Myanmar President Thein Sein, Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services Min Aung Hlaing and Defence Minister Hla Min during his two-day visit to Myanmar which ended yesterday.

During his visit, Gen Min Aung Hlaing expressed concern that Myanmar had not met certain benchmarks for democracy required by Washington, ACM Sukumpol said.

Cobra Gold is an annual joint military exercise between Thailand and the US.

Myanmar military authorities want the Thai military to help plead their case to Washington, the defence minister said, adding he was willing to raise the issue with the US military.

The Myanmar general said residents would soon enjoy full democracy, according to ACM Sukumpol.

During his visit, the two countries agreed to cooperate in drug interdiction operations along the border, particularly in information exchange, he said.

Myanmar has asked Thailand to crack down on the production of methamphetamine precursors to prevent the chemicals from being smuggled into Myanmar, said ACM Sukumpol. He added he would raise the issue with Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yubamrung, who oversees drug suppression.

During his trip, ACM Sukumpol also sought Myanmar’s support for the opening of three more permanent border checkpoints in Chiang Mai, Mae Hong Son and Kanchanaburi provinces to support the future Dawei deep-sea port development project.

Link: http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/307969/