A top US official in the Trump administration, Assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence and Research Michael Vance, met with Myanmar leader Min Aung Hlaing last month (September 15-16), the first such high-level contact since the 2021 coup. Additionally, some business figures have been removed from the US sanctions list. These actions suggest a shift in US policy towards Myanmar, moving away from isolation. The BBC analysis notes that this shift is partly driven by US strategic interests, including the need for alternative rare earth sources outside of China, and a broader change in US diplomatic approach to foreign elections.