As the civilian death toll from the bloodiest Israel-Gaza conflict in decades climbs ever higher, analysts warn that Asia must be on guard against deep divisions over the war tearing at the region’s social fabric – and the consequences of an increasingly distracted United States turning the bulk of its attention elsewhere. Some observers have cautioned that China could seek to take advantage of Washington’s...

Violent Extremism

The Chinese government has issued arrest warrants for a minister and a mayor in the Wa Self-Administered Zone (SAZ) for their alleged leading roles in telecom fraud gangs in the autonomous region of Myanmar’s northern Shan State near the Chinese border. The Hanzhou City Police Department in Jiejiang province and the Kunming City Police Department in Yunnan province issued warrants for the arrests of...

Democracy & Governance

“The town belongs to them,” Lae said, referring to the Chinese investors running a special economic zone (SEZ) at the train’s final stop, where she was visiting a childhood friend for the day. “Boten is famous for child trafficking,” her daughter Ellie warned. “They take young Lao girls to China.” The Boten SEZ, nestled next to China’s Yunnan province, has cycled through...

Democracy & Governance

The United Nations has cast a harsh spotlight on the cyber trafficking industry that has blossomed in Southeast Asia in recent years, estimating that the trade has ensnared some 100,000 victims in Cambodia alone. In a sweeping new report on online scam operations in the region, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights seeks to frame the online trafficking networks as an...

Human Rights

China is gearing up to mark the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), its vast international infrastructure scheme and brainchild of President Xi Jinping, next month. It claims to have...

Mediation, Negotiation & Dialogue

In this week's episode of The Irrawaddy Newscast we hear about the expansion of BRICS and whether the junta has any hope of joining. Also, it’s been two years since the civilian National Unity Government declared an armed uprising against the...

Fragility & Resilience

The first hint Soe Thun* had that his online sales job might not be exactly as advertised was that the hiring process lasted just a few minutes and took place over a voice messaging app. His recruiter, who gave her name as Lisa, told Soe Thun to send her a paragraph of...

Human Rights

Shut out of the Asean summit last week, Myanmar’s junta held its own meetings with representatives from China, India and Thailand in a bid to use its larger neighbours to leverage against the regional bloc and boost the generals’ “legitimacy”, analysts said. As leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations met in Indonesia...

Conflict Analysis & Prevention;  Fragility & Resilience