Myanmar: Situation Update

Published on Dec 27, 2024 by Luke Hunt

Military analyst Paul Greening provides an update of the civil war in Myanmar and an outline of what might be expected from a joint security company being prepared by the military and Beijing to guard Beijing's interests. Click here to listen to the podcast. .

Chinese Boots in Myanmar

Published on Dec 26, 2024 by Luke Hunt

Chinese plans for Myanmar and its assets could have far reaching consequences in 2025. Michael Martin is an adjunct fellow with the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C. He returns to Beyond the Mekong amid speculation that China and Myanmar’s military junta are preparing to establish a “joint security company” to protect Beijing’s interests in the war-torn country.The junta has reportedly formed a committee to prepare an MoU for establishing a security company, which could be dispatched into Rakhine State, where fighting this year has been intense and the U.N. has warned  has warned that two million people are facing “the dire prospect of famine.”Click here to listen to the podcast hosted by Luke Hunt..

Witness to Genocide

Published on Nov 12, 2024 by Luke Hunt

Journalists and filmmakers Am and Steve Sandford have covered Southeast Asia as a couple for the last 30 years and have been intimately involved with the Rohingya in Myanmar since 2009, when members of the Muslim minority group began fleeing their homes.That culminated in a mass exodus amid an alleged genocide of the Rohingya in 2017, when more than 700,000 fled into Bangladesh. The Rohingya’s plight has gone from bad to worse amid the civil war in Myanmar following the coup d’etat in early 2021.The Sandfords have released a book – “Witness to Genocide, Chasing the Rohingya in Southeast Asia” – that details their experiences in gathering evidence. The well-written chronicle leaves readers with no doubt about the tragedies inflicted....

Eri Hsu Hsu San

Published on Nov 1, 2024 by Luke Hunt

Eri is based in Mae Sot, Thailand, from where she works as a fixer translator covering Myanmar. She is a dedicated activist and student with experience in human rights and community development.During the 2021 Myanmar coup, Eri joined the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) to resist the military regime and support grassroots efforts. She then moved to the Karen region, an area with more than 70 years of conflict, where she continued to work for change.Eri has extensive experience in combat and has studied International Relations at the Minority Affairs Institute and completed training in freedom of expression, human rights, and basic legal studies at Spring University Myanmar. She also organized programs to teach political awareness and human rights to youth....

Sean Turnell on Myanmar

Published on Aug 30, 2024 by Luke Hunt

Australian economist Sean Turnell has released his latest book “Best Laid Plans,” detailing his efforts to lift Myanmar out of deep poverty as a policy advisor to Aung San Suu Kyi before she was ousted by a military coup in early 2021, when both of them were jailed.He spent 650 days behind bars as Myanmar was tipped into civil war by a military that ended an all-too-brief experiment with democracy and has since proven itself as ill-prepared on the battlefield as it is on the economic front with the nation’s finances in tatters.Turnell spoke with The Diplomat’s Luke Hunt about his new book and the technocrats who lined up and prepared the country for trade and investment with the outside....