Myanmar News & Analysis

Examining China’s double-standard policy in Myanmar - a pragmatic and economically-driven attempt to safeguard Beijing’s interests amid a chaotic and ever-changing civil war.

This week covers the latest on a US-Ukraine critical minerals deal; Europe’s attempts to insert itself into the post-war Ukraine conversation; and the geopolitical impacts of the devastating earthquake in Myanmar.

Ending the airstrikes will end the Myanmar civil war – but it won’t happen without outside intervention.

A rebel drone operator offers a glimpse of how contemporary guerilla warfare is evolving in real-time in the Myanmar civil war.

Russia is one of only two major states to embrace the junta government amid the ongoing Myanmar civil war. The other, China, is watching warily.

The fall of the Tatmadaw’s Western Command marks a collapse of state control across Rakhine State, but governance challenges loom for the victorious Arakan Army.

The China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC) was supposed to provide economic growth while alleviating one of China’s overriding strategic concerns, but the project has never truly gotten off the ground.

Beijing is taking a more active role in the Myanmar civil war by deploying a private security company to protect Chinese investments in the country.

After a year of territorial gains, resistance fighters are nearing the second-largest city of Mandalay. Yet changing weather could breathe new life into the junta’s efforts to turn the tide in the Myanmar civil war.

Impractical as it may seem, the ruling junta in Myanmar is rolling out a census and planning to hold elections amid a raging civil war. But the effort may be hiding ulterior, more sinister motives.

Calling for elections may at first seem strange given Beijing’s strong pro-junta stance, but it’s much less so one when considering the economic interests and political parties involved.

On the seven-year anniversary of the Rohingya crisis, the international community must be serious and proactive in working toward the repatriation of Rohingyas to Myanmar.

The battle for Myawaddy reflects a shift in the Myanmar civil war. With the countryside now largely held by opposition forces, junta-held towns and cities are now being swept up in the fighting.

Many date the start of the Myanmar civil war to the 2021 coup that removed Aung San Suu Kyi from power. However, this is just the latest phase of one of the longest running conflicts in the world.

A national economy in free-fall won’t impact the strategic calculations of a ruling junta which views the Myanmar civil war as an existential conflict.