Myanmar

How China outmanoeuvres the West in Myanmar

China is quietly reshaping Myanmar’s battlefield through economic pressure, while Western trade and sanctions backfire. Without a rethink, the West risks losing the country entirely. ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute visiting fellow Jared Bissinger analyses the future outlook.

Jared Bissinger

[Big read] Myanmar’s election: Beijing plans, ASEAN stalls, youth pay the price

Myanmar holds elections while Beijing charts its long game and ASEAN stalls. On the ground, young people flee conscription and insecurity, bearing the human cost of political manoeuvring far beyond their control. Lianhe Zaobao journalists Tan Jet Min and Zhou Yifei speak to academics and ordinary Burmese to find out more.

Tan Jet Min

From Cambodia to Myanmar: Can ASEAN and China broker another peace?

ASEAN played a significant role in dealing with the decade-long Cambodian crisis in much of the 1980s and early 1990s. Could this experience help it play a greater role in resolving the Myanmar crisis? Malaysian academic Ngeow Chow Bing examines the issue.

Ngeow Chow Bing

US tariffs: Punishing the least developed economies in Southeast Asia?

US tariffs target Southeast Asian supply chains, hitting Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam the hardest. While Chinese FDI is prominent in Cambodia and Myanmar, traditional investors still dominate more developed SEA economies. Academic Guanie Lim says ASEAN must prioritise multilateralism amid trade tensions and respond with strategic coherence.

Guanie Lim

Thailand’s unreliability as broker makes peace even more elusive in Myanmar

Thailand’s efforts to mediate the peace in Myanmar are complicated by the kingdom’s extensive interests in the country.

Paul Chambers

Chinese actor’s rescue recasts spotlight on telecom fraud

While Chinese actor Wang Xing survived his ordeal at the Thai-Myanmar border, many other victims of telecom fraud continue to be at risk. The scale of these operations across Southeast Asia makes them hard to root out. Meanwhile, the tourism sector in countries like Thailand may be taking a hit from the negative reports. Lianhe Zaobao correspondent Yu Zeyuan tells us more.

Yu Zeyuan

From ambiguity to endorsement: China’s backing of Myanmar’s junta

For the past few years, China has maintained strategic ambiguity in Myanmar, engaging with both the military junta and ethnic armed groups. Now, with its closure of border trade points and its open endorsement of the junta, China’s strategy has shifted. Indian academic Rishi Gupta examines the key motivating factors.

Rishi Gupta

ASEAN-China Summit in Laos: Focusing on cooperation amid global challenges

Chinese academic Peng Nian asserts that the recent ASEAN-China Summit in Laos reaffirmed strong bilateral ties. He believes that ASEAN countries will resist external pressures to choose sides, given the larger need to work with China to address common issues.

Peng Nian

Bangladesh is burning and it’s a worry for the region

Indian academic Rishi Gupta explains why Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s downfall is not a sudden development but an outcome that has been simmering since 2018. In the aftermath, Bangladesh’s neighbours such as India, China and Myanmar will have to manage spillover effects and instability in the region.

Rishi Gupta

[Big read] Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim: Maintaining good relations with both China and the US

With Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim in the role as head of government for more than a year, his stance on foreign policy and relations with China and other countries is becoming clearer. Anwar's role on the international stage may gain even greater prominence with Malaysia's chairmanship of ASEAN coming up next year. Meanwhile, he will also need to contend with garnering domestic support, especially among the Malay community. Lianhe Zaobao journalist So Choon Siang speaks with academics to find out more.

So Choon Siang

Myanmar's crisis set to be drawn-out struggle

The situation in Myanmar is expected to be a drawn-out struggle, with the extension of the state of emergency, and the opposition groups gaining strength and occupying more townships. Researcher Hein Khiang notes that the Myanmar issue is also troubling for the international community, especially for China and ASEAN, both of which could play a role in resolving the situation.

Hein Khaing

How China and India are handling Myanmar's crisis three years on

In the three years since the coup in Myanmar, the country's northern border with China has become an economic and strategic challenge to Beijing's interests, while India is faced with the biggest humanitarian and security crisis, with refugees entering India posing an immediate security challenge.

Rishi Gupta