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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

The four defendants will be sentenced on June 8. Photo: Jelly Tse

Hong Kong courts

4 plead guilty to rioting during 2019 PolyU siege in Hong Kong

Cheung Chung-yiu, Cheung Chin-ming, Chan Chun-hei and Chan Yuen-ming were aged between 16 and 27 at the time of the November 2019 riots.

18 May 2026 - 10:04PM

Sri Lanka

The great scam migration: fraudsters fleeing Cambodia find a new hub

18 May 2026 - 11:12AMvideocam

Indonesia

Police raids reveal Indonesia as new hub for scam, gambling syndicates

12 May 2026 - 8:11PMvideocam

Asean

‘Tentative step’: Asean weighs bringing Myanmar back into the fold

Virtual talks may offer a ‘sensible middle ground’ for reconciliation after Myanmar’s years in the political wilderness, analysts say.

12 May 2026 - 5:07PMvideocam

Myanmar’s newly elected President Min Aung Hlaing waves as he leaves after a swearing-in ceremony in Naypyidaw on April 10. Photo: AP

Indonesia

321 foreigners arrested in Indonesia online gambling crackdown

The foreigners, mainly from Vietnam, were arrested near Jakarta’s Chinatown section that investigators described as a hub for more than 70 online gambling websites.

11 May 2026 - 11:13AMvideocam

Asean

Asean to step up push for South China Sea code, energy security

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr says the code of conduct is key to unlocking deeper China-Asean economic cooperation.

8 May 2026 - 10:28PMvideocam

Electric & new energy vehicles

Chinese EV maker Leapmotor taps Stellantis’ Spanish plant for EU production

Hangzhou carmaker’s overseas strategy highlights how Chinese brands are leveraging idle plants to scale globally while easing trade barriers.

8 May 2026 - 9:40PM

A Leapmotor Lafa5 Ultra is on display at the Beijing Auto Show on April 24. Photo: AFP

Asean

Asean’s pivot to energy security leaves long-standing issues on summit sidelines

Southeast Asia is one of the worst affected by the global fuel crisis due to its high imports of oil and gas coming from the Gulf.

8 May 2026 - 1:17PMvideocam

Asean

Myanmar could come in from the cold as Asean members warm towards nation

Myanmar has been largely sidelined from top-level Asean meetings since a 2021 military coup that sparked a nationwide civil conflict.

8 May 2026 - 10:18AMvideocam

Mainland China

Myanmar’s military rulers hire Trump ally for US$50,000 a month to lobby Washington

Roger Stone has been commissioned to rebuild relations with the US, though analysts doubt Myanmar can escape its pariah status.

7 May 2026 - 4:13PM

Roger Stone, a former adviser and confidant to former US President Donald Trump, addresses reporters in Washington in 2021. Photo: TNS

Indonesia

‘I started crying’: Indonesian captain’s wife in agony over pirate attack

Captain Ashari Samadikun had sent a chilling warning to his wife before his fuel tanker was hijacked by pirates last month.

6 May 2026 - 7:49PMvideocam

An armed Somali pirate along the coastline in northeastern Somalia. Photo: AFP

Asean

Opinion | Asia must unite to avert an Iran war food crisis

The energy and fertiliser shocks come amid crucial planting windows for Asia’s farmers, exposing the region’s dire dependencies.

6 May 2026 - 4:30PMvideocam

Aung San Suu Kyi

Aung San Suu Kyi’s son asks France to help him locate mother in Myanmar

Kim Aris says he has still not heard from his mother after she was transferred to house arrest last week.

6 May 2026 - 9:27AMvideocam

Thailand

‘Phantom birth’ scam spooks Thailand as hundreds of babies get fake citizenship

Police believe that some Chinese cyber scammers are using these false registrations to launder money through firms they can fully control.

5 May 2026 - 3:47PMvideocam

A baby is carried in a back sling adorned with the Chinese character meaning “fortune” in Ban Arunothai, Thailand. Photo: Thomas Bird

Trending in China

Ex-China soldier flees Myanmar scam centre, scales wall, masks scent with cow dung

Former infantryman confounds compound bosses with military skills, flees over mountains finally making safety of Chinese embassy.

5 May 2026 - 10:06AM

A former Chinese soldier escaped from a telecom fraud centre in Myanmar by scaling a six-metre wall and masking his scent with cow dung. Photo: SCMP composite/Shutterstock/Baidu

Asean

Why Singapore, Thailand are among the world’s ‘happiest’ economies

Southeast Asian countries outdid larger economies in the 178-nation Hanke’s Annual Misery Index for 2025.

1 May 2026 - 8:58PMvideocam

Aung San Suu Kyi

Video | First public image in years of Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi

Myanmar’s detained former leader Aung San Suu Kyi moved from prison to house arrest State media broadcast the first public image of Suu Kyi in years, but son demands proof of life.

1 May 2026 - 4:10PM

Aung San Suu Kyi

Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi moved from prison to house arrest

State media broadcast a photograph of the Nobel laureate ⁠flanked by two uniformed personnel – the first public image of her in years.

1 May 2026 - 1:59PMvideocam

Aung San Suu Kyi speaks in New York in September 2012. Photo: AFP

Thailand

Video | Rare earth mining is poisoning the Mekong River

Toxins pose health risks including cancer, organ failure and developmental harm.

30 Apr 2026 - 8:51PM

Thailand

‘Destroying the world’s kitchen’: the poisoning of the Mekong River

Many millions depend on the river but toxic run-off from mining for modern technology - including for war - could be an existential threat.

1 May 2026 - 9:57AMvideocam

Malaysia

‘Barrage of questions’: Malaysian Indians least likely to be scammed, police say

Despite all races being equally targeted, ethnic Indians lost the least because they would keep questioning until the scammers gave up.

30 Apr 2026 - 9:16AMvideocam

Little India in Kuala Lumpur. Ethnic Indians account for about 7 per cent of Malaysia’s population. Photo: Shutterstock

Asean

Will Asean’s oil scramble mean Russia builds lasting stronghold in region?

Southeast Asia’s pivot may be for economic reasons, but some analysts warn Moscow could seek to build lasting influence in the region.

28 Apr 2026 - 7:24PM

A man refuels the tank of a motorcycle at a petrol station in Manila, the Philippines, on April 7. The Strait of Hormuz blockade has resulted in energy shortages in Asia. Photo: AFP

Asean

China backs Myanmar’s push to ease diplomatic isolation, stamp out telecoms scams

Foreign Minister Wang Yi caps five-day Southeast Asia tour also urging both sides to ‘open up new prospects for bilateral relations’.

26 Apr 2026 - 7:51PMvideocam

Cambodia

US slaps sanctions on Cambodian senator suspected of controlling scam centres

The sanction freezes all US assets linked to Senator Kok An and his named associates, and bars any American national from dealing with them.

24 Apr 2026 - 5:19PMvideocam

US-China relations

America offers US$4 million bounty for arrest of Chinese money launderer

Daren Li fled the US after admitting he conspired to launder funds obtained from victims in cryptocurrency scams and fraud in Southeast Asia.

24 Apr 2026 - 3:58PMvideocam

Chinese national Daren Li, 43, fled the US in December. He was convicted and sentenced in absentia to 20 years in prison in February. Photo: Handout

Min Aung Hlaing

Why Myanmar’s token amnesties are ‘no cause for celebration’

Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi is now due for release in 2043 – provided she survives to the age of 97.

22 Apr 2026 - 4:18PM

A protester from Myanmar living in Japan holds a placard showing detained former leader Aung San Suu Kyi during a rally in December outside Myanmar’s embassy in Tokyo denouncing the junta’s election. Photo: Reuters

War and conflict

Myanmar president seeks peace talks by July 31, 2 rebel groups reject offer

Of the rebel groups that Min Aung Hlaing mentioned in his offer, the Karen National Union and the Chin National Front have rejected his call.

21 Apr 2026 - 9:46PM

Asean

Why Indonesia is ceding its role as Asean’s natural leader to Singapore

For decades, Indonesia’s standing was a given. A new survey suggests the region’s opinion leaders are no longer so sure.

21 Apr 2026 - 3:38PMvideocam

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Myanmar

4 plead guilty to rioting during 2019 PolyU siege in Hong Kong

Cheung Chung-yiu, Cheung Chin-ming, Chan Chun-hei and Chan Yuen-ming were aged between 16 and 27 at the time of the November 2019 riots.

The great scam migration: fraudsters fleeing Cambodia find a new hub

Police raids reveal Indonesia as new hub for scam, gambling syndicates

‘Tentative step’: Asean weighs bringing Myanmar back into the fold

Virtual talks may offer a ‘sensible middle ground’ for reconciliation after Myanmar’s years in the political wilderness, analysts say.

321 foreigners arrested in Indonesia online gambling crackdown

The foreigners, mainly from Vietnam, were arrested near Jakarta’s Chinatown section that investigators described as a hub for more than 70 online gambling websites.

Asean to step up push for South China Sea code, energy security

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr says the code of conduct is key to unlocking deeper China-Asean economic cooperation.

Chinese EV maker Leapmotor taps Stellantis’ Spanish plant for EU production

Hangzhou carmaker’s overseas strategy highlights how Chinese brands are leveraging idle plants to scale globally while easing trade barriers.

Asean’s pivot to energy security leaves long-standing issues on summit sidelines

Southeast Asia is one of the worst affected by the global fuel crisis due to its high imports of oil and gas coming from the Gulf.

Myanmar could come in from the cold as Asean members warm towards nation

Myanmar has been largely sidelined from top-level Asean meetings since a 2021 military coup that sparked a nationwide civil conflict.

Myanmar’s military rulers hire Trump ally for US$50,000 a month to lobby Washington

Roger Stone has been commissioned to rebuild relations with the US, though analysts doubt Myanmar can escape its pariah status.

‘I started crying’: Indonesian captain’s wife in agony over pirate attack

Captain Ashari Samadikun had sent a chilling warning to his wife before his fuel tanker was hijacked by pirates last month.

.css-1pcrwvc{color:#2aa191;}Opinion | Asia must unite to avert an Iran war food crisis

The energy and fertiliser shocks come amid crucial planting windows for Asia’s farmers, exposing the region’s dire dependencies.

Aung San Suu Kyi’s son asks France to help him locate mother in Myanmar

Kim Aris says he has still not heard from his mother after she was transferred to house arrest last week.

‘Phantom birth’ scam spooks Thailand as hundreds of babies get fake citizenship

Police believe that some Chinese cyber scammers are using these false registrations to launder money through firms they can fully control.

Ex-China soldier flees Myanmar scam centre, scales wall, masks scent with cow dung

Former infantryman confounds compound bosses with military skills, flees over mountains finally making safety of Chinese embassy.

Why Singapore, Thailand are among the world’s ‘happiest’ economies

Southeast Asian countries outdid larger economies in the 178-nation Hanke’s Annual Misery Index for 2025.

.css-1t72pn8{color:#C79A00;}Video | First public image in years of Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi

Myanmar’s detained former leader Aung San Suu Kyi moved from prison to house arrest State media broadcast the first public image of Suu Kyi in years, but son demands proof of life.

Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi moved from prison to house arrest

State media broadcast a photograph of the Nobel laureate ⁠flanked by two uniformed personnel – the first public image of her in years.

Video | Rare earth mining is poisoning the Mekong River

Toxins pose health risks including cancer, organ failure and developmental harm.

‘Destroying the world’s kitchen’: the poisoning of the Mekong River

Many millions depend on the river but toxic run-off from mining for modern technology - including for war - could be an existential threat.

‘Barrage of questions’: Malaysian Indians least likely to be scammed, police say

Despite all races being equally targeted, ethnic Indians lost the least because they would keep questioning until the scammers gave up.

Will Asean’s oil scramble mean Russia builds lasting stronghold in region?

Southeast Asia’s pivot may be for economic reasons, but some analysts warn Moscow could seek to build lasting influence in the region.

China backs Myanmar’s push to ease diplomatic isolation, stamp out telecoms scams

Foreign Minister Wang Yi caps five-day Southeast Asia tour also urging both sides to ‘open up new prospects for bilateral relations’.

US slaps sanctions on Cambodian senator suspected of controlling scam centres

The sanction freezes all US assets linked to Senator Kok An and his named associates, and bars any American national from dealing with them.

America offers US$4 million bounty for arrest of Chinese money launderer

Daren Li fled the US after admitting he conspired to launder funds obtained from victims in cryptocurrency scams and fraud in Southeast Asia.

Why Myanmar’s token amnesties are ‘no cause for celebration’

Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi is now due for release in 2043 – provided she survives to the age of 97.

Myanmar president seeks peace talks by July 31, 2 rebel groups reject offer

Of the rebel groups that Min Aung Hlaing mentioned in his offer, the Karen National Union and the Chin National Front have rejected his call.

Why Indonesia is ceding its role as Asean’s natural leader to Singapore

For decades, Indonesia’s standing was a given. A new survey suggests the region’s opinion leaders are no longer so sure.

Opinion | Asia must unite to avert an Iran war food crisis

Video | First public image in years of Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi