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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

Indonesia

Diplomacy over drama: Indonesia rules out military action to free designer

Arnold Putra is serving a seven-year prison sentence for entering Myanmar illegally and engaging with an ethnic armed group.

14 Jul 2025 - 6:59PM

Thailand

Decline in Chinese tourists sees Thailand target Southeast Asia, Middle East

14 Jul 2025 - 4:16PM

War and conflict

Thailand copes with border influx as hundreds flee Myanmar conflict

12 Jul 2025 - 8:13PMvideocam

Asean

Fulfil ‘wish list’ for peace before holding election, Asean urges Myanmar junta

Asean foreign ministers continue to urge implementation of the Five-Point Consensus despite the junta’s refusal to cooperate.

11 Jul 2025 - 10:32PMvideocam

Southeast Asian foreign ministers pose for a group photo ahead of the plenary session of the 58th Asean Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Kuala Lumpur on July 9, 2025. From left: Thailand’s Maris Sangiampongsa, Vietnam’s Bui Thanh Son, Malaysia’s Mohamad Hasan, the Philippines’ Theresa Lazaro, Brunei’s Erywan Yusof, Cambodia’s Prak Sokhonn and Myanmar’s representative Kyaw Nyun Oo. Photo: EPA

Aung San Suu Kyi

Myanmar junta chief hails Trump in rare overture, seeks tariff cuts

Myanmar’s Min Aung Hlaing asks US president for a sharp reduction in 40 per cent tariff rate.

11 Jul 2025 - 3:49PM

Pakistan

48 Chinese among 149 arrested in Pakistan scam centre raid

Citizens from the Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Myanmar were also arrested for allegedly running Ponzi schemes and collecting money illegally from the public.

10 Jul 2025 - 4:50PMvideocam

China trade

‘Whatever they do is wrong’: Chinese exporters trapped by Trump’s Asean tariffs

‘Every investment is a gamble’, and Chinese factories face ‘huge losses’ by operating in Southeast Asian countries facing Trump’s tariffs, according to industry insiders.

10 Jul 2025 - 11:59AMvideocam

People relax at the jetty near the container cargo port on Wednesday as a container cargo ship passes by in Myanmar, which US President Donald Trump has threatened with a 40 per cent tariff. Photo: EPA

US-China trade war

‘Pressure and division’: why Trump’s 14-nation tariff package puts China on edge

Washington’s latest duties target some of Beijing’s most important partners, pressuring Asean and fuelling trade tensions, analysts warn.

10 Jul 2025 - 11:57AMvideocam

Asean

Will Myanmar block East Timor’s Asean entry? The junta draws a red line

Myanmar’s military regime is attempting to block East Timor’s accession over its engagement with the ousted National Unity Government.

8 Jul 2025 - 3:10PM

US-ally trade wars

Apparently impatient Trump slaps 25% tariffs on Japan, South Korea

Equal or higher tariffs imposed on others before Wednesday deadline.

8 Jul 2025 - 1:33PMvideocam

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt shows a letter on tariffs from US President Donald Trump to Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, during a press briefing at the White House on Monday. Photo: Reuters

Thailand

Video | What’s turning this Thai river orange?

7 Jul 2025 - 12:00PM

Thai river turns orange as dangerous toxins from Myanmar mines flush downstream

07:11

US immigration

US deports 8 immigrants to conflict-torn South Sudan after legal fight

Deportation follows a US Supreme Court ruling favouring the Trump administration.

7 Jul 2025 - 2:13PM

SCMP Highlights

China on Ukraine war, US-Vietnam trade deal in spotlight: SCMP daily highlights

From Wang Yi’s comments on war between Russia and Ukraine to anti-dumping tariffs on European brandy, here’s a round-up from today’s coverage.

4 Jul 2025 - 9:15PM

Crime

Chinese model lured to Myanmar with scam job rescued after sister raises alarm

25-year-old missing since June 9 was rescued on Friday, prompting new warning from Chinese embassy in Thailand about high-paying job offers.

5 Jul 2025 - 3:15AMvideocam

A Chinese male model named Zhong, from Guangdong province, has been rescued after being lured into Myanmar for an overseas work opportunity last month, according to the Chinese embassy in Thailand. Photo: Sina

China-EU relations

The EU-China reset that never was: summits begin but divisions remain

After much talk of patching things up, a grand rapprochement has failed to materialise, with Beijing seen to be playing a ‘waiting game’.

2 Jul 2025 - 1:22PMvideocam

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will hold talks in Brussels on Wednesday before heading to Paris and Berlin. Photo: AFP

Asean

Opinion | Myanmar crisis demands Asean rethink on regional diplomacy

Asean must match the people’s demands for justice, dignity and freedom with nothing less than bold, principled leadership.

2 Jul 2025 - 5:30AMvideocam

Hong Kong society

Medical excellence to Olympic glory: Hong Kong honours outstanding contributions

Former Hospital Authority chairman John Leong and gold medal fencer Vivian Kong among 427 people recognised in honours list.

2 Jul 2025 - 12:01PM

Thailand

Quake-hit Bangkok tower collapse blamed on build, design failures

The State Audit Office tower was the only structure in the Thai capital to fall, with a China-linked joint venture now facing scrutiny.

30 Jun 2025 - 6:17PMvideocam

Rescuers at the scene of the building collapse in Bangkok following an earthquake in March. Photo: dpa

Asean

Asian Angle | Are migrant workers the real glue cementing Asean-GCC ties?

The surprising truth behind the growing partnership lies in its people-to-people connections, remittances, the haj and financial mobility.

28 Jun 2025 - 12:00PMvideocam

Crime

Myanmar burns US$300 million worth of confiscated drugs

Myanmar has a long history of drug production and is a major source of illegal drugs bound for East and Southeast Asia.

26 Jun 2025 - 7:23PM

China economy

Opinion | The new wave of globalisation could be China-led

Going global not only defuses the perils of protectionism, it also allows Chinese firms to bring jobs and economic benefits to the world.

26 Jun 2025 - 5:21PMvideocam

Visitors check out the Longi Green Energy Technology booth at the 2025 Intersolar Europe exhibition in Munich, Germany, on May 12. Photo: Xinhua

Hong Kong society

Earthquake rescuers, Kai Tak Sports Park team win high-level Hong Kong award

City leader praises Hong Kong team sent to help earthquake-hit Myanmar in March, and public servants that handled opening of sports facility.

24 Jun 2025 - 4:30PM

City leader John Lee (front row, fifth from left) and other officials welcome the returning Hong Kong rescue team at Hong Kong International Airport in early April, after its mission in the earthquake-affected areas of Myanmar. Photo: May Tse

Climate change

Asia is heating up at double the global rate amid climate crisis, UN warns

Asia’s vast land mass is intensifying extreme heatwaves as its sea surface warms at twice the global average, a new UN report reveals.

24 Jun 2025 - 3:45PMvideocam

US immigration

Supreme Court allows swift deportation of migrants away from home countries

Divided court lifts order, paving way for removals to third countries; dissenters warn of torture and death risks.

24 Jun 2025 - 1:41PM

Rohingya Muslims

Letters | The world must deliver justice for the Rohingya

Readers discuss action on the Rohingya crisis, better governance for better climate outcomes in Asia, and why investors might have to reassess their emerging market exposures.

21 Jun 2025 - 11:30AM

Rohingya refugees wait for relief supplies during Ramadan at the refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh on March 16. Photo: Reuters

Asean

Asean credibility at stake as Thailand-Cambodia tensions escalate: analysts

Diplomatic rift raises fresh questions over Asean unity and bloc’s ability to mediate conflicts between member states, observers say.

20 Jun 2025 - 7:31PMvideocam

Asean leaders pose for a group photo during the plenary session at the Asean summit in Kuala Lumpur on May 26. The bloc was founded in 1967. Photo: AFP

Thailand

Are Chinese-run mines in Myanmar polluting Thailand’s Kok River?

Tests by a Thai government agency have found levels of arsenic nearly five times international drinking water standards in the Kok River.

18 Jun 2025 - 11:34AM

War and conflict

Over 600 evacuated as Myanmar military fights anti-coup forces

Myanmar has been fighting a many-sided civil war since the military snatched power in a 2021 coup, leaving more than 3.5 million people displaced.

14 Jun 2025 - 6:31PM

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