An ethnic Kachin group in northern Myanmar has seized more than 20 military outposts and bases since it and its allies launched a coordinated attack on military targets last week, the group’s spokesperson claimed yesterday. On March 7, the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and its allies launched simultaneous attacks on military outposts and bases along … Read more
Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese issued an emphatic commitment to Southeast Asia as he brought the special Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to a close in Melbourne yesterday. In remarks to Southeast Asian leaders on the closing day of the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit, Albanese described the diverse, sprawling region as the key to his … Read more
Myanmar’s opposition National Unity Government (NUG) has denounced the military’s announcement that it will begin enforcing a 2010 military conscription law, vowing to resist its implementation. In a statement yesterday, the NUG, which is coordinating the nationwide resistance to the military junta, said that the February 10 announcement was “unlawful and has no legal effect.” … Read more
On February 8, the rebel Arakan Army (AA) seized Mrauk-U, the former capital of the Arakan kingdom in Rakhine State, western Myanmar, along with the towns of Minbya and Kyauktaw. In fact, since the resumption of war between the AA and the country’s military junta on November 13, the AA has now successfully taken over … Read more
After significant battlefield setbacks over the past three months, Myanmar’s military announced that it would start to enforce for the first time a 2010 conscription law that subjects young men and women to at least two years of military service. In a statement read out on state broadcaster MRTV on Saturday, junta spokesperson Maj. Gen. … Read more
Ngapali Beach, in the southern part of Myanmar’s Rakhine State, is facing tough times. Once known for attracting an international crowd of holidaymakers, the country’s premier beach resort is currently experiencing its lowest tourist numbers since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The situation here has deteriorated in recent weeks, three years after a military … Read more
Today, Reuters published a report quoting a senior Thai official about the country’s new humanitarian initiative on Myanmar, which was agreed last week by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). At the close of their informal meeting in Luang Prabang, ASEAN foreign ministers and a representative from Myanmar’s military junta endorsed Thailand’s initiative to … Read more
Myanmar’s military junta has extended the country’s state of emergency by another six months, again delaying a general election it has promised to hold – though it remains unlikely to ever happen. In a statement cited by the AFP news agency, the regime’s National Defence and Security Council (NDSC) agreed yesterday to the extension, which … Read more
On the eve of the third anniversary of the 2021 coup, Myanmar’s opposition National Unity Government (NUG) has reaffirmed its intention to defeat the country’s military dictatorship and build a “new federal democratic union” on its ashes. The NUG, which is spearheading the resistance to military rule, released a joint position statement today along with … Read more
Three years have passed since the military coup in Myanmar. Since then, the resistance movement has flourished into an inspired example of people’s power and the defiance of authoritarian forces. In the eyes of the military, the hijacking of the 2020 general election and subsequent coup attempt was an easy conquest. They thought that violence … Read more