BANGKOK -- Thailand's pro-military government has tapped its back-channel contacts with Myanmar's armed forces to shape Bangkok's diplomatic options following the turmoil and bloodshed in its neighbor since the February coup in Naypyitaw.
Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha tipped this element of Bangkok's approach by skipping the recent summit of Association of Southeast Asian Nations leaders in Jakarta. He sent Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai instead for the ASEAN gathering convened to chart a regional response to Myanmar.
