The last time that Myanmar’s prime minister attended a summit meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations he wielded a heavy hand and forced host-country Singapore to withdraw an invitation to United Nation’s envoy Ibrahim Gambari. Now, only four days before a summit in Thailand, Thein Sein is packing his bags again.

And there’s no telling what baggage he’ll carry across the border.

From AFP:

Myanmar’s prime minister, General Thein Sein, will attend the annual Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Thailand this week, an official announced Monday.

The official confirmed a state media report that General Thein Sein would visit the key summit in the Gulf of Thailand, where regional heads of state are set to gather Friday.

“General Thein Sein will attend the ASEAN summit,” said the official on condition of anonymity.

His trip to Thailand comes as the junta appears to be opening up diplomatic channels abroad, with Thein Sein last month becoming the highest-ranking Myanmar official to attend the United Nations General Assembly in 14 years.

The prime minister made a speech before the assembly on September 28, slamming Western economic sanctions against his country as politically motivated as the US mulls greater engagement with the reclusive government.

In the past, human rights abuses by the State Peace and Development Council have embarrassed ASEAN, which includes Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. With the organization slated to address just that issue, the question has to be: why does the general want to be there for the abuse? Or, as he did in 2007, does he think he can derail the criticism?

That Thailand has amassed more than 18,000 security troops in and around Hua Hin indicates that the participants do not expect a peaceful meeting.