Other foreign envoys to have died since 2021 included German Ambassador Jan Hecker, Ukraine Ambassador Serhiy Kamyshev and Philippines envoy Jose Santiago Chito Sta.
Representational image. AP
New Delhi: Myanmar’s envoy to China, U Myo Thant Pe died in the southwestern Chinese city of Kunming on Sunday, becoming the fourth foreign envoy to have died in the country since 2021.
The Myanmar ambassador was appointed in 2019 and stayed in his post after the Myanmar junta seized power in February 2021.
According to Reuters, the obituary for the Ambassador by Myanmar’s foreign ministry in a state newspaper on Monday did not specify his cause of death.
Diplomats in Beijing and a Chinese language Myanmar media report said the cause was likely to be a heart attack, added the report
Thant Pe was last seen on Saturday meeting a local official in the southwestern Chinese province of Yunnan which borders Myanmar, according to a local news report.
Meanwhile, the Chinese Foreign Ministry expressed grief over the sudden demise of Thant Pe.
“We deeply mourn the sudden death of Myanmar Ambassador to China U Myo Thant Pe and express deep sympathy to his family,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said during a press conference.
Other foreign envoys to have died in the past year included German ambassador Jan Hecker, Ukraine ambassador Serhiy Kamyshev and Philippines ambassador Jose Santiago Chito Sta.
German ambassador Hecker, 54, died in September, less than two weeks into his Beijing posting while Ukraine ambassador Kamyshev, 65, died in February 2021 during or shortly after a visit to a Beijing Winter Olympics venue.
Philippines ambassador Santiago “Chito” Sta. Romana, 74, died in quarantine in the eastern Chinese province of Anhui in April.
With inputs from agencies
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