Myanmar

Southeast Asia's top diplomats shake hands during the opening ceremony of the ASEAN foreign ministers meeting in Phnom Penh on Aug. 3.
International relations

ASEAN struggles to find way forward on Myanmar crisis

Malaysia proposes banning Myanmar's military appointees from bloc meetings

4 August 2022
Southeast Asia's top diplomats started their annual meeting on Aug. 3 in Phnom Penh.
Myanmar Crisis

Myanmar shifts ASEAN to 'a la carte' diet

Crucial week of diplomacy could determine future of the Southeast Asian bloc

3 August 2022
A beach in Ngwesaung, in the Ayeyarwady region of southern Myanmar, in 2017. With the pandemic easing, the military regime wants to restart tourism. (Getty Images)
Tea Leaves

Sun, sea and civil war: holidaying in Myanmar

Tourists to strife-torn country must first make peace with risks and ethics

3 August 2022
Hun Sen, left, meets with Min Aung Hlaing in Naypyitaw on Jan. 7: The Cambodian leader is useful to the Myanmar regime as a conduit to seek international legitimacy.
Opinion

ASEAN's impotence in Myanmar can be traced to Hun Sen

As bloc chair, Cambodia has let the region down by closing its eyes to abuses

3 August 2022
Top diplomats set to meet for ASEAN talks. From left: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Cambodian Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn, and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. (Source photos by AP and Reuters)
International relations

ASEAN to host ministerial talks amid Myanmar crisis, Ukraine war

Meetings to include U.S., China as Pelosi's possible Taiwan visit raises tensions

2 August 2022
Low prices are a main selling point for Honeys, which operates 871 stores in Japan. (Photo courtesy of Honeys)
Retail

Myanmar garment industry draws fresh investment from Japan's Honeys

Fast-fashion chain aims to source over half of products from Southeast Asian nation

2 August 2022
Local media reports indicate a Japanese man named Toru Kubota has been detained in Yangon.
Myanmar Crisis

Myanmar authorities detain Japanese man in Yangon

Man in his 20s, reported as Toru Kubota, was arrested with 2 Myanmar citizens

31 July 2022
Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing in Moscow on July 12. Japan's policies derive from the tenuous assumption that the military regime can continue to hold power.
Opinion

Japan is backing the wrong side in Myanmar

Opposition NUG will prevail in war and better realize economic development

28 July 2022
People protest in the wake of executions, in Yangon on July 25. (Screen grab obtained from a social media video) 
Myanmar Crisis

World condemns Myanmar junta for 'cruel' execution of activists

U.N. human rights chief calls the move a 'regressive step'

26 July 2022
A complex of four buildings called "Yoma Central" near Yangon Central railway station, is under construction on July 22. Before the change in government, work on the site was frenetic, but there are no workers there now.
Myanmar Crisis

Myanmar building projects worth $1.3bn frozen since army took power

Double whammy of political instability and COVID leave developers out-of-pocket

24 July 2022
Myanmar poll workers count votes in the November 2020 general election.
Myanmar Crisis

Myanmar military prepares for election in bid for legitimacy

Skepticism of 'free and fair' vote widespread a year before August 2023 deadline

23 July 2022
Rohingya refugees near Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh in 2017. The African nation of Gambia filed the case in 2019. 
International relations

U.N. court rejects Myanmar claims, will hear Rohingya case

Decision sets stage for hearings airing evidence of atrocities against the ethnic minority

23 July 2022
Myanmar's foreign-currency shortages will limit supplies of such imports as fuel and cooking oils, the World Bank says.
Economy

Myanmar economy to grow 3% as recovery lags: World Bank

Prepandemic activity unlikely to return soon despite weaker-than-expected COVID hit

22 July 2022
Myanmar military chief Min Aung Hlaing, second left, meets with Rosatom executives on July 11. (Photo courtesy of Myanmar's Ministry of Information)
Myanmar Crisis

Myanmar seeks Russian assistance in push for nuclear energy

Min Aung Hlaing meets key business leaders and defense officials in latest trip

19 July 2022
A bank employee ties stacks of kyat together in Yangon. The Myanmar currency has weakened since the military took control of the country in 2021, now trading for around 2,190 to the dollar on the street.
Myanmar Crisis

Myanmar revokes foreign company exemption from currency rules

International businesses need to convert deposits into kyat, central bank says

15 July 2022
Suzuki, one of the first automakers to set up an assembly plant in Myanmar, has had to suspend production there due to the difficulty of exchanging its kyat earnings for dollars.
Automobiles

Suzuki halts Myanmar assembly, stymied by foreign currency curbs

Japanese automaker unable to buy parts or exchange kyat for dollars

8 July 2022
China and Myanmar discussed infrastructure development in a bilateral meeting Sunday. (Photo courtesy of the press office of Myanmar's armed forces)
International relations

Myanmar talks Belt and Road with China, restarts regional meetings

Conflict between military, armed resistance poses hurdle to Chinese investment plans

5 July 2022
Kirin had hoped to continue selling beer in Myanmar after the dissolution of the joint venture, but it was not able to do so.
Myanmar Crisis

Kirin to sell entire stake in venture with Myanmar military

Facing human rights pressure, Japanese brewery opts for early retreat

30 June 2022
After Vietnam, Cambodia has become the next popular destination for China’s processing trade business.
Caixin

Cambodia, Myanmar race to become apparel making hubs

Tax reductions and exemptions among many incentives luring manufacturers

30 June 2022
Myanmar's deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi, 77, was recently transferred from house arrest to prison.
International relations

Cambodian envoy urges Myanmar to send Suu Kyi home from prison

Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn asks regime to pursue 'inclusive' reconciliation

27 June 2022
Cars are seen stuck in a traffic jam in Yangon. The Myanmar government stopped issuing car import permits in October last year. 
Myanmar Crisis

Myanmar blocks car, luxury imports amid foreign-currency crunch

Military seeks to balance trade by slashing nonessential purchases

23 June 2022
Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi, pictured here in 2017, has been under house arrest since February 2021.
Myanmar Crisis

Suu Kyi moved to prison site as Myanmar trial continues: reports

No reason given for transfer of 77-year-old deposed leader from house arrest

23 June 2022
Su Thit and her husband Htet Myat, an ex-army captain, in happier days. “We were only able to meet three times in three years of marriage." (Courtesy Su Thit)  
Tea Leaves

Hey soldier, mind your missus

Myanmar military wives remind us who commands the household

22 June 2022
A bridge connecting Myanmar with India's state of Mizoram: Insurgents from the Indian side are adding to the Southeast Asian country's ethnic strife.
Myanmar Crisis

Insurgents from India add fuel to fire in Myanmar's restive north

Ethnic groups jostle for dominance in Chin, complicating resistance to military regime

19 June 2022
Myanmar bank notes. The country has introduced rules requiring businesses and individuals to exchange foreign currency for kyat.
Myanmar Crisis

Myanmar to exempt foreign companies from forced currency exchanges

Central bank briefs banking officials on loosening of rule that has created uncertainty

8 June 2022