As mentioned in the preceding chapters, the level of trade between Myanmar and other Southeast Asian countries is still low by international standards although its trade, especially import trade, has been growing rapidly from 1980/ 81 to 1990/91. From Myanmar's perspective, its trade with Southeast Asia is substantial; but from the viewpoint of Southeast Asian nations, this trade is nominal in relation to their trade with the rest of the world. To Myanmar, the ASEAN market is second only to that of the “other Asian countries”, comprising mainly China, Japan, and India. Of all the Southeast Asian nations, Singapore is Myanmar's biggest trading partner, followed by Thailand. The smallest trading partners, Vietnam and the Philippines, remain the least important in Myanmar's foreign trade, while Indonesia's trade with Myanmar has dropped substantially because of Indonesia's successful Green Revolution and Myanmar's supposed self-sufficiency in oil in the early 1980s. Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia have hardly any trade with Myanmar as they have never been important trading partners of Myanmar, probably because of former colonial ties. During the period under study, the balance of trade between Myanmar and Southeast Asia has almost always been in Myanmar's favour.

The generally low level of trade between Myanmar and Southeast Asia may be attributed to factors in contemporary history and the political economy of Myanmar and other Southeast Asian states which have influenced the degree of openness of their economies and thus the level of trade.

Southeast Asia can be sub-divided into ASEAN on the one side, and the Indochinese socialist nations on the other, with Myanmar belonging to neither side. Politically, ASEAN leans towards the West whereas the Indochinese states lean towards the East. Another point to note is that Myanmar is strictly a neutral country: it pulled itself out of the non-aligned movement when it felt that the movement had deviated from its original principles. From 1962 to 1988 Myanmar adopted a form of socialism defined in Myanmar nationalist terms.