Indonesian President Joko Widodo, center, stands with other leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to listen to the ASEAN anthem during the 42nd ASEAN Summit in Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara province, Indonesia, Wednesday, May 10, 2023. Credit: AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim, Pool Advertisement Southeast Asian leaders condemned an armed attack on an aid … Read more
Advertisement The brutal campaign unleashed by the Myanmar military to crush the resistance movement has involved bombings, raids, burning of villages, and massacres of innocent civilians. The atrocities have compelled a large number of people to leave their homes and relocate to safer zones. Buried in these incidents are numerous individual stories of people who … Read more
Advertisement Indonesia has rescued 20 of its nationals from human traffickers in Myanmar and signaled it is fed up with the scourge, announcing that the conflict-ridden country, alongside Cambodia and Laos, will no longer be destinations for its migrant workers. Benny Rhamdan, head of the Indonesian Migrant Workers Protection Agency, told the official Antara news agency that any … Read more
ASEAN Beat | Diplomacy | Southeast Asia The humanitarian convoy, which came under fire in western Shan State, included officials from the two nations’ embassies in Yangon. A street scene in Hsihseng township, in Myanmar’s Shan State, September 5, 2015. Credit: Sebastian Strangio Advertisement Indonesia and Singapore have condemned an armed attack on a humanitarian convoy organized by the … Read more
Advertisement War crimes are ongoing in western Myanmar as an increasingly desperate military junta continues an aerial bombardment of the region, relying on air power to target civilian populations. In April, one airstrike alone targeting a village in Sagaing Region killed at least 130 people, many of whom were women and children. Moreover, the civilian … Read more
Advertisement Enough of Indonesia’s chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has now elapsed that it is fair to ask how much the country has achieved in bringing the conflict in Myanmar to an end. Five months after taking the ceremonial gavel from last year’s chair, Cambodia, the country’s political crisis shows no … Read more
Advertisement China’s Foreign Minister Qin Gang stopped in Myanmar on May 2, en route to India for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s Foreign Ministers’ Meeting. In doing so, Qin further cemented Beijing’s willingness to work with the military regime that seized power via a coup in February 2021 – even though Myanmar has been wracked by … Read more
Advertisement When Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing visited Great Coco Island last month, his plane landed on a tarmac that was generating some buzz. Recent satellite photos showed the newly-extended airstrip had nearly doubled in length to 2,300 meters. Two new hangars and a causeway were also visible on the tiny island off the coast … Read more
Released prisoners on a bus leave from Insein Prison in Yangon, Myanmar Wednesday, May 3, 2023. Credit: AP Photo/Thein Zaw Advertisement Myanmar’s military authorities have pardoned more than 2,000 people locked up under a law that makes it illegal to encourage dissent against the military. In a junta statement cited by Agence France-Presse, the military … Read more
Advertisement Indonesian officials said Friday they were working to rescue dozens of their nationals who were trafficked to Myanmar to work as cyber scammers, amid an increase in human trafficking cases in Southeast Asia. At least 20 Indonesian job seekers are trapped in Myawaddy township, the site of an armed conflict between Myanmar’s military and … Read more