The commander of Thailand’s armed forces has held talks with Myanmar junta boss Gen Min Aung Hlaing to discuss cooperation to crack down on online gambling and online scams, according to Myanmar’s Ministry of Information.

It said on its website that the online meeting between the Myanmar leader and Commander of Thai Armed Forces Gen Songwit Noonpackdee also discussed enhancement of relations and cooperation between the two countries and the two armed forces.

“At the talks, they discussed bilateral cooperation in drug eradication and counter-terrorism, eradication of illegal trade, exchange of information, and efforts for ensuring peace and stability in border areas of both countries,” it said.

It said they also discussed plans to beef up bilateral cooperation in humanitarian assistance but gave no details.

Thai government sources told Thai PBS World that the Thai authorities have been in talks with Myanmar military leaders on Thailand’s initiative to provide humanitarian assistance to people affected by the ongoing fighting between the armed ethnic groups and Myanmar military.

The Ministry of Information of Myanmar said they also discussed joint efforts to deal with the ongoing forest fires and transboundary haze in  the Myanmar-Laos-Thai border areas.

Even though the ASEAN countries have shunned high-level meeting with the Myanmar government following the military coup in 2021, the Thai military is known to have maintained constant communication with its counterparts in Myanmar.