Myanmar

Chinese soldiers march in formation in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square on 30 September 2023. (Pedro Pardo/AFP)

Will the PLA cross the Chinese-Myanmar border to safeguard security?

Lianhe Zaobao correspondent Yu Zeyuan notes that while the recent live-fire drills by China’s Southern Theater Command at the China-Myanmar border is aimed at testing the PLA’s capabilities, it is evidently a form of warning to all sides involved in the war in northern Myanmar. Some are even supporting the idea of Chinese military deployment across the border to tackle the serious, long-term issues of smuggling, drug trafficking and telecommunications fraud in northern Myanmar.
(From left) Bi Huijun, Wei Qingtao and Liu Zhengqi in their confession videos. (Internet)

China's all-out effort to wipe out scam syndicate families in northern Myanmar

It seems that scam operators, not least the “four big families” of northern Myanmar or Kokang, are being put on notice in Northern Myanmar. Skirmishes between the Brotherhood Alliance armed forces and the junta are helping to ferret out these organisations. Given that Kokang borders China, the animosity between the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army and the junta government will test how China strikes a balance between them.
This photo taken on 10 November 2023 shows fighters of the ethnic rebel group Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) walking down a street market in the town of Namhkam in northern Shan state. A surprise offensive by Myanmar ethnic armed groups has blocked two strategically vital roads to the country's biggest trading partner China, choking cross-border commerce and denying the cash-strapped junta taxes and foreign exchange. (Mai Nyi/AFP)

Why Myanmar’s warring groups are vying to combat cybercrimes

In an unexpected twist, the warring groups in Myanmar’s civil war have a unified goal: combating cybercrime and ingratiating themselves with China.
Thai police standing in front of some Thai nationals allegedly enslaved by scam gangs based in Cambodia. This picture was taken in Cambodia. (Tan Hui Yee/SPH Media)

[Big read] Are Chinese tourists targeted by scam syndicates in Southeast Asia?

Lianhe Zaobao journalist Daryl Lim steps into the world of scam syndicates and scam hubs in Southeast Asia, particularly Myanmar, which is one centre of activity. How can the authorities clean up the industry so that tourists — especially from China — will return and boost the recovery of the tourism industry?
Indonesian President Joko Widodo passes ASEAN's hammer to Laotian Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone, during the closing ceremony of the 43rd ASEAN Summit in Jakarta, Indonesia, on 7 September 2023. (Willy Kurniawan/Reuters)

Is Laos able to make a difference in the Myanmar crisis?

ISEAS academic Joanne Lin looks at the crisis in Myanmar and recommends possible strategies for Laos to move the needle on the issue, ahead of its ASEAN chairmanship next year. Namely, Laos can make use of its strong relations with China and Russia to encourage them to work and coordinate closely with ASEAN.
A man rides a cart past chinese shops and restaurants in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on 15 September 2023. (Tang Chhin Sothy/AFP)

Chinese in the crosshairs of ‘mushrooming’ transnational cybercrime

Cybercrime scams and the related kidnappings have exploded since 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent economic downturn fuelled the number of such crimes, including fake online romantic ploys, bogus investment pitches and illegal gambling schemes. Scam centres were concentrated in Cambodia, but have now been found in Laos and Myanmar, and at least four other Asian countries have become human trafficking hubs.
People gather as they hold candles and white sheets of paper to support protests in China regarding Covid-19 restrictions at National Taiwan University in Taipei, Taiwan, 30 November 2022. (Ann Wang/Reuters)

Why did the Taiwanese support China's A4 revolution?

Taiwanese academic Ho Ming-sho asserts that Taiwan’s show of solidarity with protestors in China’s A4 revolution is better understood under the lens of the history of the island’s pursuit of its own identity. He explains why Taiwan’s civil-society actors chose to react to the protests on universal values, rather than national sentiment.
Cambodia's Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn and Secretary General of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Lim Jock Hoi pose for pictures before a meeting with Southeast Asian foreign ministers at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Secretariat in Jakarta, Indonesia, 27 October 2022. (Galih Pradipta/Pool via Reuters)

George Yeo: ASEAN’s advantage in an emerging multipolar world

Delivering the keynote address of the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute’s Regional Outlook Forum 2023, Singapore’s former Foreign Minister George Yeo spoke about the ways that ASEAN’s weakness is also a strength in the transition to a multipolar world.
Demonstrators hold placards with pictures of Aung San Suu Kyi as they protest against the military coup in Yangon, Myanmar, 22 February 2021. (Stringer/File Photo/Reuters)

What do the official Chinese media’s mixed messages on the Myanmar coup mean?

China’s willingness to side with the Myanmar military and the SAC regime has been evident since the immediate aftermath of the February 2021 coup, despite its apparently mixed messages, say researchers Su Mon Thazin Aung and Nan Lwin. Through its state media, China has in fact consistently transmitted messages largely in favour of the military takeover of its smaller neighbour and sought to pin anti-Chinese sentiment in Myanmar on the West's moves.