The United States has opened direct talks with Myanmar’s military-installed government, marking a significant change in Washington’s approach to the Southeast Asian country following years of diplomatic isolation after the 2021 military coup. The outreach has been led in part by Michael Vance, the U.S. assistant secretary of state for intelligence and research, who met Myanmar’s military-backed leader, Min Aung Hlaing, in the capital Naypyitaw in September, according to U.S.