Burma / Myanmar
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Global Commons
Myanmar’s military rulers impose wide-ranging online censorship
The Associated Press Myanmar’s military rulers, notorious for cracking down on free speech, have enacted a cybersecurity law that imposes extensive restrictions on the flow of information, a state-run newspaper reported in January 2025. Existing controls on freedom of expression generally involve charges under broadly defined national security laws concerning online content. There also have been actions blocking websites and…
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Conflicts - Tensions
Internet access, credibility plummet in Myanmar, report finds
FORUM Staff Myanmar, mired in a civil war triggered by a military coup in February 2021, has joined the People’s Republic of China (PRC) at the bottom of an annual assessment of internet freedom in 72 nations worldwide. The Freedom House rankings evaluate internet access, content limits and user rights violations in the countries, which comprise about 87% of global…
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Free and Open Indo-Pacific/FOIP
ASEAN leaders want South China Sea consensus, peace in Myanmar
FORUM Staff Amid rising regional tensions, leaders of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) at their October 2024 summit called for speeding up adoption of a long-awaited code of conduct for the South China Sea. They also demanded an end to Myanmar’s civil strife that has killed at least 5,350 civilians and displaced more than 3.3 million people…
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Conflicts - Tensions
Beijing’s support of Myanmar’s junta fuels resentment, resistance
Dr. Miemie Winn Byrd The People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) backing of Myanmar’s brutal, highly unpopular and illegitimate military junta further exposes Beijing’s hypocrisy and heavy-handed interference in the region. In mid-August 2024, Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi met with the head of Myanmar’s junta and reiterated the PRC’s support for its efforts “in implementing the five-point roadmap for ensuring…
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Conflicts - Tensions
Myanmar military on verge of falling from power, analysts say
Dr. Miemie Winn Byrd The Myanmar military junta faces imminent collapse, even though many analysts believed it was “too big to fail” at the start of the country’s armed resistance to restore democracy. The junta seized power in a February 2021 coup, but the resistance coalition’s ongoing Operation 1027, named for its launch date of October 27, 2023, has weakened…
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Conflicts - Tensions
Myanmar school attacks rise amid intensified fighting, researchers say
The Associated Press Intensified fighting in Myanmar’s civil war has brought a sharp increase in destructive attacks on schools, a group that monitors armed conflict in the Southeast Asian nation said. Myanmar Witness said the attacks further strained Myanmar’s fractured school system, taking away education for millions of children who have also been forced to flee their homes, miss vaccinations…
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Illicit Activity
Vietnam improves in human trafficking fight
Radio Free Asia For the second year in a row, Vietnam’s ranking improved in the United States’ annual Trafficking in Persons report, and the country is no longer considered among Asia’s worst for human trafficking, a list that includes the People’s Republic of China (PRC), Cambodia, Myanmar and North Korea. The June 2024 report from the U.S. State Department focuses…
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Global Commons
Thailand seeks to boost humanitarian aid to Myanmar
Benar News Thailand is looking to expand humanitarian aid to Myanmar as fighting between military junta forces and rebels intensifies across the border in Kayin state, a Thai Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman said recently. The Thai government will collaborate with international organizations to deliver aid, spokesman Nikorndej Balankura said. “As a neighboring country, Thailand supports dialogue for reconciliation, leading to…
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Climate
Scientists Identify 380 More Species in Mekong Region
Radio Free Asia An aggressive color-changing lizard, a venomous snake named after a goddess in Chinese mythology and a camouflaging green frog found only in the forested limestone mountains of northeastern Vietnam were among the hundreds of plant and animal species discovered in the Mekong River region in the past two years, researchers announced in May 2023. Hundreds of scientists…
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Conflicts - Tensions
Human rights groups decry PRC’s continued abuses
FORUM Staff Human rights groups are reiterating concerns over the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) treatment of Chinese citizens and those of other countries. Organizations including Human Rights Watch (HRW), the United Nations Human Rights Office and Safeguard Defenders, a Madrid-based human rights organization, recently published reports covering a range of abuses, from “collective punishment” of Chinese citizens to funding…
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