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Myanmar

Latest news, updates and opinion on Myanmar, covering politics, economy, society and the country’s relationships with China and India, and other countries in Southeast Asia.

Capital

Naypyidaw

Head of State

Acting President Min Aung Hlaing

Head of Government

Prime Minister Min Aung Hlaing

Asean

Asian Angle | Asean’s side deals in Myanmar risk missing where the power truly lies

Trading collective leverage for isolated bargains blinds the bloc to changing realities on the ground.

5 hours ago

Hong Kong courts

Hong Kong beautician pleads guilty to luring 2 women into Myanmar scam factory

26 Jun 2026 - 7:18PM

United States

US Supreme Court paves way for Trump’s mass deportation of Haitians, Syrians

26 Jun 2026 - 1:07PM

Singapore

Singaporean woman jailed for slapping, punching helper over job performance

Hazel Phang Fong Yen was also ordered to pay US$3,422 in compensation for repeated physical assaults on the Myanmar national.

24 Jun 2026 - 3:29PM

Singapore’s skyline. A woman was jailed for abusing her domestic worker in the city state. Photo: Xinhua

Thailand

Thailand auctions US$18 million superyacht linked to supersized fraud

Nearly US$700 million in assets have been seized in Thailand so far, an example of the amount of dirty money sloshing through the economy.

23 Jun 2026 - 12:18PMvideocam

Singapore

Why Wong-Putin meeting doesn’t mean Singapore’s going soft on Russia

Singapore needs to balance its tough stance on the Ukraine war with its responsibilities towards other Asean nations, experts say.

22 Jun 2026 - 6:58PMvideocam

War and conflict

Did Myanmar-China talks spawn a more emboldened junta?

China and India have been jostling for influence in Myanmar as the Asean member remains embroiled in civil war.

22 Jun 2026 - 6:35PM

Chinese President Xi Jinping holds talks with Myanmar President Min Aung Hlaing at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on June 16. Photo: Xinhua

Aung San Suu Kyi

Son hails Aung San Suu Kyi’s spirit in moving 81st birthday tribute

In a video, Kim Aris notes it is the sixth birthday in a row he has been unable to see his mother in person, as calls for her release continue.

19 Jun 2026 - 9:15PM

Africa

Vietnamese deported to South Sudan under Trump’s controversial scheme goes home

At least seven African nations have agreed to accept deportees who are not their own citizens as part of arrangements with the US.

19 Jun 2026 - 7:13PM

US, Israel war on Iran

China urged to boost navy escorts and find other routes to secure energy supply

Closure of Strait of Hormuz has exposed fragility of maritime chokepoints and more should be done to protect shipments, analysts say.

18 Jun 2026 - 2:00PM

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has disrupted shipments of vital supplies such as oil, gas and fertiliser. Photo: AFP

US-China relations

Can China-US breadbasket diplomacy sidestep tension over American’s arrest?

Farm-belt officials from both sides meet as US voters consider issues for midterms and Beijing detains US citizen.

17 Jun 2026 - 10:17PMvideocam

More than 200 Chinese and American agriculture officials, business representatives and academics from the “granaries” of their countries met in China on Tuesday. Photo: Xinhua

Russia

China’s Xi vows support for Myanmar as Min Aung Hlaing moves to bridge isolation

Myanmar expected to push for reopened China trade routes that were restricted for fear of conflict spilling over the border.

16 Jun 2026 - 10:00PMvideocam

Aung San Suu Kyi

Myanmar’s junta says things back to normal. Yangon clubbers don’t believe that

Despite the lifting of curfew five years after the military coup, party-goers still wait until dawn to sneak home.

13 Jun 2026 - 3:31PM

Bangladesh

Why Bangladesh’s new PM is visiting Malaysia and China before India

Analysts view the decision to prioritise Kuala Lumpur and Beijing as practical rather than a direct snub of New Delhi.

13 Jun 2026 - 1:30PMvideocam

Tarique Rahman (centre), waves to supporters in Dhaka February shortly before his election as Bangladesh’s prime minister. Photo: AFP

Asean

Asean at 60: peace, prosperity and polite paralysis

Non-interference bought decades of stability, but now breeds inaction. Is Asean due an overhaul?

13 Jun 2026 - 8:00AMvideocam

Espionage

Beijing confirms arrest of US citizen Min Zin on espionage charges

On the same day China said Myanmar’s president will visit, it said it had arrested the former Myanmese democracy activist.

12 Jun 2026 - 7:59PMvideocam

Thailand

Thai woman detained after US diplomat found dead in Myanmar hotel

Police were treating the case as a possible murder and had taken a suspect into custody.

10 Jun 2026 - 7:50PM

Asean

As Putin courts Southeast Asia, does ‘Russia need Asean more’?

Southeast Asia needs energy. Russia needs friends. Next week’s summit in Kazan could offer opportunities for both sides.

9 Jun 2026 - 5:00PMvideocam

Russian President Vladimir Putin takes part in a virtual Asean meeting via videoconference in 2021. Photo: Sputnik/ Kremlin/AP

SCMP Highlights

India’s rise in critical minerals; ‘involution’ and Malaysia: 7 Asia highlights

From RedNote’s advice on ‘involution’ to a refugee’s journey to Malaysia, here are a few highlights from SCMP’s recent Asia reporting.

9 Jun 2026 - 3:15PM

Malaysia

Viral petition to expel Rohingya from Malaysia triggers hate speech warning

Rights groups warn hatred risks spilling onto Malaysia’s streets as a petition to expel Rohingya refugees nears half a million signatures.

8 Jun 2026 - 11:44AMvideocam

Malaysia

‘We drank seawater’: a refugee’s journey from Myanmar to Malaysia

A Rohingya woman recalls her days adrift at sea and the legal limbo that has defined the 16 years since she reached Malaysia’s shores.

7 Jun 2026 - 1:30PMvideocam

A wooden boat carrying Rohingya migrants is detained in Malaysian territorial waters off the island of Langkawi, in 2020. Photo: Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency/AP

Rare earths

Deformed fish in river, pollution from rare earth mines in Myanmar fuel fears

Russian and Chinese firms are also competing to be the first to reach a tungsten mine in a conflict zone, sparking concerns of NGOs.

5 Jun 2026 - 4:07PM

A drone view shows a gold mine in Shan State, Myanmar, as seen from Chiang Rai province, Thailand, last year amid increased rare earth and gold mining at the Kok River’s source in Myanmar. Photo: Reuters

Video | Rescuers ‘in despair’ after Myanmar blast kills dozens

The Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), one of the country’s most powerful ethnic minority factions, said the explosion was caused by the accidental detonation of mining explosives.

3 Jun 2026 - 5:30PM

War and conflict

Rescuers dig for bodies after Myanmar explosives blast kills at least 38

The incident has cast a spotlight on Myanmar’s largely unregulated mineral industry and Chinese investment in the country’s extractive industries.

1 Jun 2026 - 7:57PMvideocam

India

Why India is rolling out welcome mat for Myanmar’s Min Aung Hlaing

The military leader’s first presidential trip to New Delhi signals pragmatic engagement as India moves to counter rising Chinese influence.

2 Jun 2026 - 8:12AM

Indian Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi (right) shakes hands with Myanmar President Min Aung Hlaing before their meeting at Hyderabad House in New Delhi, India, on Monday. Photo: EPA

Myanmar’s changing ties with China

Myanmar’s China-backed mega dam revival risks Kachin rebel backlash

Restarting the shelved US$3.6 billion Myitsone Dam project could ultimately come down to Beijing’s ‘risk tolerance’.

1 Jun 2026 - 8:00AM

A Kachin Independence Army rebel stands at frontline outpost in northern Kachin state, Myanmar. Photo: AP

Hong Kong

45 killed in Myanmar’s Shan state after blast at mining explosive storage facility

The village in Namhkam township is under the control of the Ta’ang National Liberation Army, an ethnic armed group opposed to the junta.

31 May 2026 - 11:09PMvideocam

Asean

Asian Angle | Where Southeast Asians really want to live, work and travel

While Thailand leads for tourism, Singapore and Japan are the top draws for work, revealing uneven regional soft power dynamics.

31 May 2026 - 10:00AM

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Myanmar

.css-1pcrwvc{color:#2aa191;}Asian Angle | Asean’s side deals in Myanmar risk missing where the power truly lies

Trading collective leverage for isolated bargains blinds the bloc to changing realities on the ground.

Hong Kong beautician pleads guilty to luring 2 women into Myanmar scam factory

US Supreme Court paves way for Trump’s mass deportation of Haitians, Syrians

Singaporean woman jailed for slapping, punching helper over job performance

Hazel Phang Fong Yen was also ordered to pay US$3,422 in compensation for repeated physical assaults on the Myanmar national.

Thailand auctions US$18 million superyacht linked to supersized fraud

Nearly US$700 million in assets have been seized in Thailand so far, an example of the amount of dirty money sloshing through the economy.

Why Wong-Putin meeting doesn’t mean Singapore’s going soft on Russia

Singapore needs to balance its tough stance on the Ukraine war with its responsibilities towards other Asean nations, experts say.

Did Myanmar-China talks spawn a more emboldened junta?

China and India have been jostling for influence in Myanmar as the Asean member remains embroiled in civil war.

Son hails Aung San Suu Kyi’s spirit in moving 81st birthday tribute

In a video, Kim Aris notes it is the sixth birthday in a row he has been unable to see his mother in person, as calls for her release continue.

Vietnamese deported to South Sudan under Trump’s controversial scheme goes home

At least seven African nations have agreed to accept deportees who are not their own citizens as part of arrangements with the US.

China urged to boost navy escorts and find other routes to secure energy supply

Closure of Strait of Hormuz has exposed fragility of maritime chokepoints and more should be done to protect shipments, analysts say.

Can China-US breadbasket diplomacy sidestep tension over American’s arrest?

Farm-belt officials from both sides meet as US voters consider issues for midterms and Beijing detains US citizen.

China’s Xi vows support for Myanmar as Min Aung Hlaing moves to bridge isolation

Myanmar expected to push for reopened China trade routes that were restricted for fear of conflict spilling over the border.

Myanmar’s junta says things back to normal. Yangon clubbers don’t believe that

Despite the lifting of curfew five years after the military coup, party-goers still wait until dawn to sneak home.

Why Bangladesh’s new PM is visiting Malaysia and China before India

Analysts view the decision to prioritise Kuala Lumpur and Beijing as practical rather than a direct snub of New Delhi.

Asean at 60: peace, prosperity and polite paralysis

Non-interference bought decades of stability, but now breeds inaction. Is Asean due an overhaul?

Beijing confirms arrest of US citizen Min Zin on espionage charges

On the same day China said Myanmar’s president will visit, it said it had arrested the former Myanmese democracy activist.

Thai woman detained after US diplomat found dead in Myanmar hotel

Police were treating the case as a possible murder and had taken a suspect into custody.

As Putin courts Southeast Asia, does ‘Russia need Asean more’?

Southeast Asia needs energy. Russia needs friends. Next week’s summit in Kazan could offer opportunities for both sides.

India’s rise in critical minerals; ‘involution’ and Malaysia: 7 Asia highlights

From RedNote’s advice on ‘involution’ to a refugee’s journey to Malaysia, here are a few highlights from SCMP’s recent Asia reporting.

Viral petition to expel Rohingya from Malaysia triggers hate speech warning

Rights groups warn hatred risks spilling onto Malaysia’s streets as a petition to expel Rohingya refugees nears half a million signatures.

‘We drank seawater’: a refugee’s journey from Myanmar to Malaysia

A Rohingya woman recalls her days adrift at sea and the legal limbo that has defined the 16 years since she reached Malaysia’s shores.

Deformed fish in river, pollution from rare earth mines in Myanmar fuel fears

Russian and Chinese firms are also competing to be the first to reach a tungsten mine in a conflict zone, sparking concerns of NGOs.

.css-1f6sr3w{color:#727272;}Video | Rescuers ‘in despair’ after Myanmar blast kills dozens

The Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), one of the country’s most powerful ethnic minority factions, said the explosion was caused by the accidental detonation of mining explosives.

Rescuers dig for bodies after Myanmar explosives blast kills at least 38

The incident has cast a spotlight on Myanmar’s largely unregulated mineral industry and Chinese investment in the country’s extractive industries.

Why India is rolling out welcome mat for Myanmar’s Min Aung Hlaing

The military leader’s first presidential trip to New Delhi signals pragmatic engagement as India moves to counter rising Chinese influence.

Myanmar’s China-backed mega dam revival risks Kachin rebel backlash

Restarting the shelved US$3.6 billion Myitsone Dam project could ultimately come down to Beijing’s ‘risk tolerance’.

45 killed in Myanmar’s Shan state after blast at mining explosive storage facility

The village in Namhkam township is under the control of the Ta’ang National Liberation Army, an ethnic armed group opposed to the junta.

Asian Angle | Where Southeast Asians really want to live, work and travel

While Thailand leads for tourism, Singapore and Japan are the top draws for work, revealing uneven regional soft power dynamics.

Asian Angle | Asean’s side deals in Myanmar risk missing where the power truly lies

Video | Rescuers ‘in despair’ after Myanmar blast kills dozens