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..

Luke Hunt and Craig Skehan

Published on Dec 1, 2024 by Luke Hunt

Australian television producers Luke Hunt and Craig Skehan prepped for a film shoot in Sihanoukville on the south coast of Cambodia. The area is home to pristine beaches, abandoned casinos and organized crime rings responsible for a human trafficking networks.  .

Carnival of Chaos

Published on Nov 16, 2024 by Luke Hunt

Foreign relations was never a strong point for Donald Trump and his “America first” policy, and his return to the White House signals a return of China policy to center stage, forcing smaller countries to play a wily game if they are to win his attention.That means a further loss of relevance for multilateralism and trade blocs like the Association of Southeast Asian Nations(ASEAN), with Trump’s first two years in office expected to follow his first term, which was characterized as a “Carnival of Chaos” with decisions enforced in an ad hoc manner by presidential decree.As Keith Richburg, a long-standing East Asian correspondent for The Washington Post, puts it, Trump’s transactional style of negotiating, coupled with a dislike of multilateralism....

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....

Ray Leos: 1956-2024

Published on Nov 2, 2024 by Luke Hunt

Vale Ray Leos, an American academic who probably did more for higher education in Cambodia than anyone else. He died Nov.1, 2024.Ray was a good friend, a mentor who steered me into an academic career at Pannasastra University and was primarily responsible for my last book, The Punji Trap, getting published. For more than two decades, Ray was totally dedicated to his students and that so many of them have gone onto successful careers in international relations, journalism, film making and advertising -- or simply made a better life -- is a testament to his extraordinary talent, patience and ability. He was no-nonsense and did not suffer fools gladly but he was kind-hearted. The calibre of this man can not be replaced.....

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....

Asian Logistics

Published on Oct 29, 2024 by Luke Hunt

Why do Southeast Asian farmers get paid so little? How can people respond to the immediate impact of climate change? What must governments in ASEAN do if they’re serious about cross-border trade? Why is Cambodia building a 180-kilometer canal at a cost of $1.7 billion?Chris Catto-Smith is a logistics specialist, a career which began with the Royal Australian Air Force in the 1970s. He moved to the private sector and then took his experience to Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands encouraging disadvantaged communities to develop value chains and new routes to markets.He spoke with The Diplomat’s Luke Hunt in Melbourne, where he explained the issues confronting farmers and fisherfolk who are struggling to make ends meet and discussed what....

Nic Dunlop Photography

Published on Aug 31, 2024 by Luke Hunt

Nic Dunlop ranks among the best and most prominent photographers in Southeast Asia and he was the first journalist to track down and interview the former Khmer Rouge commandant from the S-21 extermination camp that operated in Cambodia under Pol Pot.Dunlop believes in the language of photography but like many of his peers, the Irishman is increasingly annoyed by the state of press photography and where it is going.He recently penned an article for Light Rocket in which he sharply criticized the judging and the standards of many entrants at this year’s World Press Photo awards.The Diplomat’s Luke Hunt spoke with Dunlop from his home in Bangkok about deteriorating industry standards and what exactly ‘the press’ means anymore. He also....

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....

Ei Ei Love

Published on Aug 18, 2024 by Luke Hunt

Ei Ei is a Burmese translator, fixer and reporter who covers the civil war in Myanmar from Mae Sot on the Thai border. She has worked with Bomborra since early 2024, among other media outlets including the BBC. Ei Ei also delivers humanitarian assistance across the border for people and children in need..

Mae Sot Book Dispensary

Published on Aug 18, 2024 by Luke Hunt

Studio Bomborra is sponsoring the Mae Sot Book Dispensary to deliver books written in English, Burmese and Karen for children under eight years of age across the border from Thailand to a school in Myanmar. Key people involved in this are Ei Ei Love, David Armstrong and Luke Hunt. Please do not send money. If, however, you have old, unwanted books at home that are suitable for young children and you're prepared to send them via sea mail, then please post to the following address:Mae Sot Book Dispensary: 61/21 Rat Uthit Road, Mae Sot Subdistrict, Mae Sot District, Tak Province, 63110, ThailandJust a point out, not all postal services provide seamail to Southeast Asia and airmail can be expensive, so....