Reuters: The United States and Myanmar military held secret talks in Tokyo to promote crackdown on rare earth minerals

(Central News Agency, Washington/Tokyo, Comprehensive Foreign News Report on the 16th) People familiar with the matter revealed that the United States and the Myanmar military-backed government held talks in Tokyo last week. This was their second meeting in a month. Washington, which severed ties with Myanmar's generals after the country's 2021 coup, is stepping up re-engagement.

Reuters has reported that previous talks in mid-September in Naypyitaw, the capital of Myanmar, focused on securing the release of an American businessman and the closure of a fraud zone targeting Americans, but could also pave the way for broader discussions, including targeting Myanmar's rare earth mineral deposits.

Three people familiar with the matter told Reuters that it was unclear what was discussed during last week's talks. The people, including a U.S. official, spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the meeting.

A source said that Michael Vance, assistant secretary of state for the Bureau of Intelligence and Research, once again led a delegation to participate in the talks in Tokyo, with more than ten U.S. officials participating. Reuters could not confirm who the Myanmar representative was.

Asked about its role in hosting the talks, Japan's Foreign Ministry said in an emailed statement that Japan had been "engaging in necessary communications" with both sides but would not comment on specific diplomatic exchanges.

People familiar with the matter previously told Reuters that a meeting between Vans and Myanmar coup leader and current President Min Aung Hlaing in Naypyitaw last month opened the door to wider discussions. This quick return to the negotiating table in Tokyo shows that both sides intend to continue dialogue.

People familiar with the matter said that one of the main focuses of the U.S. operation is to obtain Myanmar's help in shutting down fraud parks that engage in romance scams and other fraudulent activities and defraud Americans of billions of dollars.

Researchers point out that many of the fraud operations are based in areas controlled by military-backed militias, with some proceeds going to the military, raising questions about whether Myanmar's leaders pay attention to law enforcement. Myanmar’s military-backed government said it was participating in a multi-national operation to crack down on fraud zones.

U.S. officials have also discussed access to Myanmar's rich deposits of heavy rare earths, which are used in products ranging from electric vehicles to wind turbines. U.S. officials admit they face significant obstacles: The deposits are mostly in territory controlled by ethnic armed groups fighting the military, and China, Myanmar's main buyer of rare earths, may be resistant to U.S. involvement.

The United States last week lifted sanctions on the daughter of a Myanmar businessman accused of supporting the country's military, saying the move was part of a new approach to Myanmar. The U.S. State Department said in response: "This approach highlights the importance of maintaining dialogue with all groups involved in Myanmar's civil war and is committed to reexamining the tools that the United States has used in the past to advance core interests in the country."

Hunter Marston, director of the Southeast Asia Program at the Lowy Institute, an Australian think tank, pointed out that the latest contacts between the United States and Myanmar in Japan show that the Trump administration views Myanmar from a "pure transactional perspective."