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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

Released prisoners look from a bus window outside Insein Prison in Yangon, Myanmar, on Monday. Photo: EPA-EFE

Aung San Suu Kyi

Myanmar convicts charged as ‘terrorists’ by junta freed in mass amnesty

Activists and armed groups fighting the junta have been labelled ‘terrorist’ outfits, and punished with life prison terms and possible death sentences.

6 hours ago

SCMP Highlights

US mining expansion in Africa, Indonesia’s aircraft carrier: 5 weekend reads

2 Mar 2026 - 1:25PM

Russia

Why China’s Myanmar dilemma still persists, 5 years and 1 election later

28 Feb 2026 - 7:37AMvideocam

Cambodia

Cambodia’s Hun Manet admits scam hubs aided property but denies state profit

Scam centres are giving Cambodia a bad reputation, the prime minister says, vowing to wipe them out.

26 Feb 2026 - 3:39PMvideocam

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet is interviewed in Brussels on Wednesday. Photo: AFP

United States

Near-blind Rohingya refugee found dead after US officers release him out in cold

Buffalo Mayor Sean Rhyan blamed Shah Alam’s death on ‘unprofessional and inhumane’ decision making by federal immigration officials.

26 Feb 2026 - 12:38PM

Scams and swindles

Water prisons, torture: UN urges crackdown on brutal Southeast Asia scam centres

The agency’s latest report documents torture, sexual abuse, forced abortions, food deprivation and solitary confinement in the centres.

20 Feb 2026 - 7:29PMvideocam

Human rights

Myanmar rebel leader Bo Nagar surrenders to junta amid resistance infighting

The Burma National Revolutionary Army leader’s surrender is a dramatic reminder of fractures within the armed resistance movement.

19 Feb 2026 - 11:34PMvideocam

People inspect their damaged homes in Tabayin, Sagaing region, after Myanmar’s military air strikes on December 6, 2025. Photo: AFP

China Railway

China on track to complete world’s ‘most difficult’ railway project before 2030

330km Dali-Ruili Railway is expected to transform transport in Yunnan’s mountainous west, and better link China to South and Southeast Asia.

19 Feb 2026 - 9:11AM

Thailand

Thailand wants to act as ‘bridge’ for Myanmar’s return to Asean fold

Myanmar’s junta leaders have been excluded from Asean summits since the 2021 military coup that toppled a democratic administration.

18 Feb 2026 - 10:15PM

China-Asean relations

Chinese missions in Vietnam, Singapore warn citizens to stay away from gambling

Consulate and embassy issue statements after two separate incidents in which Chinese men fell to their deaths, allegedly after gambling.

18 Feb 2026 - 3:21PMvideocam

Beijing has been cracking down on gambling activities and operations involving Chinese citizens. Photo: Shutterstock

Asean

East Timor triggers Asean first, accuses Myanmar of war crimes

East Timor’s laws allow its domestic courts to investigate and potentially prosecute serious international crimes regardless of where they were committed.

16 Feb 2026 - 6:46PM

East Timor’s President Jose Ramos-Horta during an interview with The Associated Press in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on October 27 last year. Photo: AP

United Nations

Opinion | More than funding, the UN needs restructuring

The UN’s financial strain is a chance to rethink its structure, cut inefficiencies and empower local work that delivers more impact.

15 Feb 2026 - 5:30AM

Asean

Asian Angle | How Asean can resolve its Myanmar dilemma post-election

Asean should not discard the Five-Point Consensus, but translate it into a politically astute strategy of conditional engagement.

14 Feb 2026 - 12:30PMvideocam

Malaysia

Malaysia smashes high-end sex syndicate charging US$900 a session

The suspected ringleader and salesmen are Chinese nationals while a Singaporean and Malaysian have been asked to assist in investigations.

14 Feb 2026 - 11:37AMvideocam

A view of the Kuala Lumpur skyline. The bungalow was in an upmarket residential area of the capital. Photo: Shutterstock

Scams and swindles

More Southeast Asian human trafficking gangs use crypto to move illegal funds

The transactions are linked to activities such as forced labour recruited by scammers and international escort services, a report says.

16 Feb 2026 - 4:48PMvideocam

Soldiers raid the KK Park online scam centre in Myawaddy township, Karen state, Myanmar, last year. Photo: AP

Scams and swindles

Video | Scam centre members apologise in broadcast confession

Core members of the Myanmar-based telecoms fraud syndicate Ming Zhenzhen and Bai Yingcang apologised for causing harm to Chinese citizens.

9 Feb 2026 - 2:49PM

China-Asean relations

Exclusive | Inside China’s rare meeting to lobby Southeast Asia against Japan

Beijing summons Southeast Asian envoys and invokes Japan’s WWII history, but campaign to isolate Tokyo gains little traction.

6 Feb 2026 - 10:19AM

Malaysia

Malaysian waters see return of oil transfer by ‘dark fleet’ of tankers

A crackdown against two vessels off Penang was the first disruption of such a ship-to-ship oil transfer in the state for over 10 years.

4 Feb 2026 - 7:48PMvideocam

A transfer of oil between MT Nora ship (left) and Rcelebra ship (right) off Penang last month. Photo: Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency

Mainland China

Video | 4 more telecoms fraud gang members executed in China

Members of the Bai family syndicate were convicted of telecoms fraud, murder and drug trafficking.

3 Feb 2026 - 2:41PM

Crime in China

China moves to boost cybercrime penalties by adding exit ban after sentences

Amid cross-border crackdown, draft Cybercrime Prevention and Control Law bill lists exit bans among tools to punish cybercriminals.

2 Feb 2026 - 10:24PMvideocam

Aung San Suu Kyi

Myanmar junta pledges to remove former civil servants from blacklists

After the military snatched power in a 2021 coup, tens of thousands of public workers left their posts in a surge of civil disobedience.

1 Feb 2026 - 4:54PM

Demonstrators hold placards during a protest against the military coup in Yangon, Myanmar, on February 18, 2021. Photo: EPA-EFE

Crime

Video | China executes 11 members of telecoms syndicate

Members of the Ming family crime syndicate found guilty of murder, illegal detention, running casinos and other offences.

30 Jan 2026 - 12:30PM

China-Asean relations

China executes 11 core members of Myanmar-based telecoms fraud ring

They include members of the Ming family crime syndicate found guilty of murder, illegal detention, running casinos and other offences.

29 Jan 2026 - 8:00PMvideocam

Asean

How far can Asean engage Myanmar without legitimising military rule?

The bloc’s foreign ministers meet in Cebu amid concerns that diplomacy could slide into tacit acceptance of military rule.

29 Jan 2026 - 5:58PMvideocam

Malaysia

Malaysian man arrested after secret trip to see second wife in Indonesia

The 46-year-old told officers that he could not travel by air as his passport was held by the first wife.

28 Jan 2026 - 10:34AM

Several people were detained aboard an unregistered boat during an operation conducted by Malaysia’s Maritime Enforcement Agency on Monday. Photo: Facebook/maritimmalaysia

Aung San Suu Kyi

‘What was the point?’: Myanmar’s loaded election brings win for junta allies

Disenfranchised citizens and migrants dismiss the election as a meaningless exercise designed solely to validate the military’s iron grip.

26 Jan 2026 - 8:37PM

Myanmar electoral officials count ballots at a polling station in Yangon on Sunday. Photo: EPA

Myanmar's democratic transition

Video | Can Myanmar’s elections bring an end to its civil war?

International observers and bodies have slammed the elections as a sham that is neither free nor fair.

25 Jan 2026 - 9:00AM

Malaysia

Rohingya refugees at risk of removal as Malaysia begins biometric documentation

Rohingya are often undocumented as Myanmar’s authorities refuse to recognise them as a legitimate community.

22 Jan 2026 - 4:52PMvideocam

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Myanmar

Myanmar convicts charged as ‘terrorists’ by junta freed in mass amnesty

Activists and armed groups fighting the junta have been labelled ‘terrorist’ outfits, and punished with life prison terms and possible death sentences.

US mining expansion in Africa, Indonesia’s aircraft carrier: 5 weekend reads

Why China’s Myanmar dilemma still persists, 5 years and 1 election later

Cambodia’s Hun Manet admits scam hubs aided property but denies state profit

Scam centres are giving Cambodia a bad reputation, the prime minister says, vowing to wipe them out.

Near-blind Rohingya refugee found dead after US officers release him out in cold

Buffalo Mayor Sean Rhyan blamed Shah Alam’s death on ‘unprofessional and inhumane’ decision making by federal immigration officials.

Water prisons, torture: UN urges crackdown on brutal Southeast Asia scam centres

The agency’s latest report documents torture, sexual abuse, forced abortions, food deprivation and solitary confinement in the centres.

Myanmar rebel leader Bo Nagar surrenders to junta amid resistance infighting

The Burma National Revolutionary Army leader’s surrender is a dramatic reminder of fractures within the armed resistance movement.

China on track to complete world’s ‘most difficult’ railway project before 2030

330km Dali-Ruili Railway is expected to transform transport in Yunnan’s mountainous west, and better link China to South and Southeast Asia.

Thailand wants to act as ‘bridge’ for Myanmar’s return to Asean fold

Myanmar’s junta leaders have been excluded from Asean summits since the 2021 military coup that toppled a democratic administration.

Chinese missions in Vietnam, Singapore warn citizens to stay away from gambling

Consulate and embassy issue statements after two separate incidents in which Chinese men fell to their deaths, allegedly after gambling.

East Timor triggers Asean first, accuses Myanmar of war crimes

East Timor’s laws allow its domestic courts to investigate and potentially prosecute serious international crimes regardless of where they were committed.

.css-1m2rp1p{color:#34b8b5;}Opinion | More than funding, the UN needs restructuring

The UN’s financial strain is a chance to rethink its structure, cut inefficiencies and empower local work that delivers more impact.

Asian Angle | How Asean can resolve its Myanmar dilemma post-election

Asean should not discard the Five-Point Consensus, but translate it into a politically astute strategy of conditional engagement.

Malaysia smashes high-end sex syndicate charging US$900 a session

The suspected ringleader and salesmen are Chinese nationals while a Singaporean and Malaysian have been asked to assist in investigations.

More Southeast Asian human trafficking gangs use crypto to move illegal funds

The transactions are linked to activities such as forced labour recruited by scammers and international escort services, a report says.

.css-rcruog{color:#C79A00;}Video | Scam centre members apologise in broadcast confession

Core members of the Myanmar-based telecoms fraud syndicate Ming Zhenzhen and Bai Yingcang apologised for causing harm to Chinese citizens.

.css-sioo19{color:#c79a00;}Exclusive | Inside China’s rare meeting to lobby Southeast Asia against Japan

Beijing summons Southeast Asian envoys and invokes Japan’s WWII history, but campaign to isolate Tokyo gains little traction.

Malaysian waters see return of oil transfer by ‘dark fleet’ of tankers

A crackdown against two vessels off Penang was the first disruption of such a ship-to-ship oil transfer in the state for over 10 years.

Video | 4 more telecoms fraud gang members executed in China

Members of the Bai family syndicate were convicted of telecoms fraud, murder and drug trafficking.

China moves to boost cybercrime penalties by adding exit ban after sentences

Amid cross-border crackdown, draft Cybercrime Prevention and Control Law bill lists exit bans among tools to punish cybercriminals.

Myanmar junta pledges to remove former civil servants from blacklists

After the military snatched power in a 2021 coup, tens of thousands of public workers left their posts in a surge of civil disobedience.

Video | China executes 11 members of telecoms syndicate

Members of the Ming family crime syndicate found guilty of murder, illegal detention, running casinos and other offences.

China executes 11 core members of Myanmar-based telecoms fraud ring

They include members of the Ming family crime syndicate found guilty of murder, illegal detention, running casinos and other offences.

How far can Asean engage Myanmar without legitimising military rule?

The bloc’s foreign ministers meet in Cebu amid concerns that diplomacy could slide into tacit acceptance of military rule.

Malaysian man arrested after secret trip to see second wife in Indonesia

The 46-year-old told officers that he could not travel by air as his passport was held by the first wife.

‘What was the point?’: Myanmar’s loaded election brings win for junta allies

Disenfranchised citizens and migrants dismiss the election as a meaningless exercise designed solely to validate the military’s iron grip.

Video | Can Myanmar’s elections bring an end to its civil war?

International observers and bodies have slammed the elections as a sham that is neither free nor fair.

Rohingya refugees at risk of removal as Malaysia begins biometric documentation

Rohingya are often undocumented as Myanmar’s authorities refuse to recognise them as a legitimate community.

Opinion | More than funding, the UN needs restructuring

Video | Scam centre members apologise in broadcast confession

Exclusive | Inside China’s rare meeting to lobby Southeast Asia against Japan