Myanmar
Indian Ocean step-up
Like Australia in the Pacific, India has been pursuing its own Indian Ocean island step-up, largely driven by concerns about China’s growing influence in the region. This has…
The junta takes back Myanmar – Best of The Interpreter 2021
Shared power grated with the generals. A little over a decade ago, Myanmar’s military, known as the Tatmadaw, introduced a quasi-democratic constitution, which eventually saw the…
Myanmar’s annus horribilis
It has been just over a year since Myanmar emphatically re-elected Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy as the dominant partner in the country’s quasi-civilian…
Myanmar: Totalitarian terror shouldn’t fly on our watch
For many Australians, their first-hand experience with the military is the welcome sight of the Australian Defence Force assisting our community in times of drought, flood and…
ASEAN muddles through on Myanmar
Diplomacy is messy. Officials, politicians and (dare I say) think-tank analysts relish the highfalutin talk of rules, treaties, norms, values and principles. But, more often than…
If pushed far enough, would Myanmar leave ASEAN?
The decision by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations not to invite Myanmar’s military leader to two related summits in Brunei on 26–28 October raises an intriguing question:…
Myanmar’s extreme Buddhist nationalists
In a surprise move, Myanmar’s ruling military junta announced on 6 September the release from prison of Ashin Wirathu, a controversial Buddhist monk whose sermons have been blamed…
Reports
Submission to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Australia’s Response to the Coup in Myanmar
The following Joint Submission to the Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia was made by the Lowy Institute’s Ben Bland and Hervé Lemahieu on Australia’s response to the coup…
The battle for Myanmar’s seat in the UN General Assembly
Across Myanmar, the battle continues between the military and those opposed to the military coup d’etat of 1 February 2021. Opposition to the coup began with non-violent…
Covid crisis deepens in junta-ruled Myanmar
A worsening third wave of Covid-19 is a cruel new blow in Myanmar, still reeling from the human costs of the coup on 1 February, and with a military junta more focused on…