Burma / Myanmar
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Global Commons
Myanmar junta limits aid in earthquake-stricken areas, continues assault, U.N. says
Reuters Myanmar’s military junta is withholding critical humanitarian aid for earthquake victims in areas where it perceives opposition to its rule, the United Nations human rights office said. The U.N. also said it is investigating dozens of reported attacks by the ruling junta against its opponents since the earthquake struck in late March 2025. Those include airstrikes, 16 of which…
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Illicit Activity
Southeast Asian nations target security risk posed by scam centers
Peter Parson Southeast Asian nations are cracking down on scam centers, a global criminal enterprise committing hundreds of millions of dollars of fraud annually while abusing human rights and threatening regional security. Authorities in Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand are disrupting the syndicates, arresting offenders and freeing captive workers. Recent efforts have targeted Myanmar’s southeastern Myawaddy region, where scam…
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Conflicts - Tensions
India’s Opportunity at Myanmar’s Crossroads
Dr. Miemie Winn Byrd Myanmar stands at a critical crossroads, facing an escalating internal crisis and mounting geopolitical pressures, notably from China’s intensified support for the military junta that seized power from the democratically elected government more than four years ago. Beijing’s backing has sparked widespread anger by sustaining a regime unlikely ever to achieve legitimacy or stability, directly opposing…
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Conflicts - Tensions
Most Myanmar citizens distrust Chinese Communist Party’s motivations in their war-torn nation, experts say
Voice of America Beijing’s perceived support for Myanmar’s military junta has caused widespread frustration in the conflict-torn Southeast Asian nation, analysts said. Since Myanmar’s military seized power from the democratically elected government in February 2021, critics have accused the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) of backing the junta to safeguard Beijing’s One Belt, One Road infrastructure scheme. Public distrust of Beijing…
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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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