US strategy links Myanmar peace talks to rare-earth access

Washington aims to use

peace diplomacy in Myanmar as a way to expand US influence and

potentially gain access to the country's rare-earth deposits,

according to a recently published State Department strategy

document.



Reuters reported last month that US officials have quietly

held talks with Myanmar's nominally civilian government, run by

the former general who led a 2021 coup, triggering a civil war

that the United Nations estimates has killed 100,000 people and

displaced more than 3.5 million.



The re-engagement, involving the State Department’s top

intelligence official Michael Vance, marks a departure from

years of US policy aimed at isolating the military. The talks

have included discussions of how to gain access to rare-earth

minerals mainly located in conflict-affected areas and currently

exported to China.