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Myanmar's democratic transition

The 2015 elections are seen as a crucial test of the credibility of reforms begun in 2011, when the junta stepped aside to make way for a quasi-civilian regime dominated by former generals. Democracy icon Aung San suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy (NLD) party are expected to make big gains at the polls - the first general election they have fought since they swept 1990 polls. The then-junta ignored the result. However the current constitution bars Suu Kyi from running in a presidential election, due to the foreign nationality of immediate members of her family. Since coming to power, the civilian government led by President Thein Sein has improved relations with the West while reducing its dependence on long-time backer China.

last updated:

9 September, 2024

Thailand’s former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra arrives at a tech event in Bangkok on December 4. Photo: AFP

Asean

Anwar’s pick of Thaksin as adviser raises fears of ex-PM favouring Myanmar junta

Myanmar resistance groups are concerned that the former Thai leader will align his business interests with those of the military junta.

20 Dec 2024 - 2:19PMvideocam

Myanmar

‘A long way to go’: India struggles to match China’s Myanmar outreach

16 Dec 2024 - 3:27PMvideocam

Myanmar

Asian Angle | Is Myanmar’s Arakan Army capable of governing Rakhine state?

16 Nov 2024 - 10:00AM

Myanmar

China pushes to secure Myanmar’s military a seat at the table as junta falters

Concerned by a potential power vacuum, Beijing is hoping to shape Myanmar’s trajectory as the generals’ grip weakens.

24 Aug 2024 - 3:35PM

Destroyed buildings in Myanmar earlier this month. Anti-junta forces are intent on the military’s “total defeat”, analysts say. Photo: AFP

Diplomacy

Editorial | Stability in Myanmar paramount for China

Emphasis is on Beijing playing role of mediator and provider of solutions in relations with Asean members.

21 Aug 2024 - 3:22AMvideocam

Myanmar

Does China think Myanmar junta is key hurdle to peace talks over civil war?

Analysts say junta lacks capacity and influence to organise fair and free election despite pressure from Beijing to ‘change gears’.

9 Aug 2024 - 11:18AMvideocam

Myanmar

Myanmar’s ‘fight to the death’: junta and its criminal warlords vs everyone else

The country is in the grips of one of the world’s most violent conflicts amid deep rifts within the military – and Asean’s response.

6 Jul 2024 - 2:00PM

An ethnic Karen fighter walks past a destroyed military outpost in November near Loikaw city in Myanmar’s Karenni state. Photo: EPA-EFE

Japan

‘Political tool’: Japanese zoo urged to reject elephants from Myanmar’s junta

Myanmar’s junta has maintained links with Japanese government agencies and companies since its 2021 coup.

2 Jul 2024 - 4:30PM

Myanmar

Myanmar junta chief says sorry after 78-year-old Buddhist abbot shot to death

The head of a monastery that had publicly opposed the military’s 2021 coup was shot dead while travelling through the Mandalay region.

26 Jun 2024 - 3:18PMvideocam

Myanmar

Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi has been incommunicado for over 3 years, family says

Suu Kyi’s son Kim Aris told Italian media the family had not heard from Myanmar’s former leader since she was ousted and arrested in 2021.

17 Jun 2024 - 8:36AMvideocam

Myanmar

Myanmar’s figurehead vice-president steps down for health reasons

Henry Van Thio, who served in elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi and continued in position after she was ousted by military in 2021, is stepping down for unspecified health reasons, state media reported.

23 Apr 2024 - 4:29AMvideocam

Myanmar

Three years on: China’s role in Myanmar’s civil war

30 Jan 2024 - 4:16PM

Myanmar

The young women on the front line against Myanmar’s junta

2 Jan 2024 - 8:00PM

Thailand

Thailand accused of ‘piggybacking’ Myanmar by leading talks with junta

Several Asean member states are believed to be upset with Thailand for organising direct talks with Myanmar.

21 Dec 2023 - 6:30PMvideocam

Myanmar

Myanmar rebels, battling junta, seek to control border with India

Chin rebels will now look to consolidate their control along the India-Myanmar border, where the Myanmar military has two more camps.

15 Nov 2023 - 8:08AMvideocam

Myanmar

‘War crime’: huge unguided bomb used in Myanmar strike, Amnesty says

The incident on Monday night saw 29 bodies and 56 wounded pulled from debris at a camp near the northern town of Laiza, on the border with China.

13 Oct 2023 - 4:54PMvideocam

Asean

Asian Angle | Can Asean stay united and work with stakeholders to end Myanmar crisis?

The decisions reached on Myanmar at the recent Asean summit indicate greater cohesion among member states and not yielding to the junta’s demands.

13 Sep 2023 - 10:30AMvideocam

Bangladesh

‘We want to go home’, plead Rohingya in Bangladesh 6 years after exodus

Budget cuts forced the UN to steeply reduce aid to the camps this year – where malnutrition was already rampant – rations are now just US$8 a month per refugee.

26 Aug 2023 - 5:55AMvideocam

Myanmar

UK police question ex-Myanmar ambassador over residence row

In 2021, diplomats close to the junta seized the embassy in London and refused access to Kyaw Zwar Minn – a supporter of Aung San Suu Kyi’s overthrown government – and he hasn’t left the ambassador’s residence since.

20 Aug 2023 - 7:30AMvideocam

Asean

Will Myanmar crisis derail East Timor’s efforts to join Asean?

East Timor has been a strong advocate of democracy, but has also had to moderate its views in order to gain Asean membership.

14 Aug 2023 - 2:27PMvideocam

Asean

Opinion | How Thailand can draw closer to China despite US elephant in the room

For a start, the Thai military should focus on regional peacekeeping with China, especially in Myanmar, and Thailand must remain a safe haven for investment, particular Chinese.

5 Aug 2023 - 5:14AMvideocam

Myanmar

Myanmar’s junta pardons Aung San Suu Kyi, postpones election it promised

Myanmar’s ex-leader will be pardoned for five of the 19 offences for which she was jailed for a total of 33 years following the 2021 coup. Former president Win Myint was also pardoned.

1 Aug 2023 - 3:15PMvideocam

A protester in Yangon holds up a poster featuring Aung San Suu Kyi during a demonstration in February 2021 against the military coup. Suu Kyi was sentenced to a total of 33 years imprisonment following the coup. Photo: AFP

Malaysia

Malaysia, Philippines leaders discuss Myanmar-Asean engagement

Malaysia – a vocal critic of the junta – and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations have previously rejected any possibility of dialogue because of human rights issues.

26 Jul 2023 - 7:10PMvideocam

Asean

Thailand’s Myanmar talks a ‘brazen attempt’ to undermine Asean centrality

Thailand’s unilateral approach has undermined Asean’s centrality principle and the power of the bloc’s chair, Indonesia, to drive inclusive dialogue with Myanmar, observers note.

14 Jul 2023 - 2:04PMvideocam

United States

US sanctions Myanmar’s defence ministry, banks

The 2 banks receive and transmit foreign currencies for Myanmar’s government, including state-owned enterprises that raise revenue for the junta.

22 Jun 2023 - 12:58AM

A banner hanging from a bridge in Myanmar on the 78th birthday of Aung San Suu Kyi, the country’s former leader who has been under arrest since the military ousted her government in February 2021. Photo: EPA-EFE

Thailand

Will Thai election outcome sway Asean’s stance on engaging Myanmar junta?

Thai policy could shift to less support for the junta if the pro-democracy Move Forward Party becomes a coalition partner in the new government, observers note.

12 May 2023 - 6:27PMvideocam

Pita Limjaroenrat (left), the Move Forward Party’s candidate for prime minister, greets supporters during a general election campaign in Bangkok, Thailand, on May 4, 2023. Photo: EPA-EFE

Asean

Asean push for Myanmar peace continues as it ropes in China, India, Japan

Asean member states took part in low-key dialogues that included India, China, Japan and Bangladesh earlier this year, as the bloc seeks to help Myanmar resolve its crisis.

8 May 2023 - 9:30AMvideocam

China-Asean relations

China pledges economic help for Myanmar, stops short of recognising junta

During a rare visit, China’s foreign minister meets Myanmar’s junta leader, the most senior official to do so since the 2021 military coup.

3 May 2023 - 9:24PMvideocam

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