Myanmar-US Relations Since 2011: From Security Partnership to Normal Relations?

The bilateral relations between Myanmar and the United States had declined for more than two decades until 2010. Since the beginning of Myanmar’s democratic reform in 2011, Myanmar-US relations constructed to normalize status and also improved to as a security partnership under the leadership of President U Thein Sein government. However, the position of bilateral relations between Myanmar and the United States during the NLD government could not maintain the status of security partnership. Therefore, the paper will explore why the current NLD government could not build more cordial relationship with the United States than the previous President U Thein Sein government. The main objectives of this paper are to examine the diplomatic approach of the USDP government and the current NLD government to the US and to explore the limitations of NLD’s government approach to the US in comparison with the USDP government. Thus, the paper will argue that the current NLD government has unlikely realized how to bargain between the domestic needs and the U.S.’s wants in Myanmar