Myanmar `under military control`

AP, Washington : The nominee to become the next commander of U.S. forces in the Pacific says the time isn’t right to expand nascent military ties with Myanmar as the Southeast Asian nation remains “firmly under military control.”That’s an unusually stark assessment from a U.S. official of the state of reforms in Myanmar. Adm. Harry Harris Jr. was responding in writing to policy questions posed for his Senate confirmation hearing Tuesday.Myanmar’s shift from direct military rule toward a more democratic system was meant to be a crowning foreign policy achievement for President Barack Obama. Restrictions have eased in the past three years, but there’s been no change to a junta-era constitution. Obama acknowledged on a visit last month that reforms have slowed or even moved backward.The administration has argued that U.S. military engagement with Myanmar officers could encourage them to submit to civilian rule, but interaction has been very limited to date, going little beyond seminars on rule of law and disaster relief.Meanwhile, Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has invited military lawmakers to dinner in a bid to build ties ahead of a proposed summit on changing the constitution, which bars her from the presidency, a senior member of her party said on Thursday.