Myanmar

India, Myanmar firm up ties with China on mind, expand bilateral agenda

Modi and Myanmar President U Min Aung Hlaing discussed trade, security, connectivity and critical minerals as New Delhi stressed continued engagement over isolation

PM Modi, Myanmar Prez hold bilateral talks on trade, security, connectivity

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday held wide-ranging talks with Myanmar President U Min Aung Hlaing focusing on boosting bilateral cooperation in trade, connectivity, border security and defence. Aung Hlaing is currently on a five-day trip to India. The visit comes less than two months after he became the president following Myanmar's parliament elections. The elections were held in December and January after years of protests against the ruling military-junta that seized power in a coup on February 1, 2021 overthrowing the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. "Deepening the bonds of friendship and cooperation. PM @narendramodi greets President U Min Aung Hlaing of Myanmar upon his arrival at the Hyderabad House for bilateral talks," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on social media. Myanmar is one of India's strategic neighbours and it shares a 1,640-km-long border with a number of northeastern states including militancy-hit Nagaland

Myanmar Prez Aung Hlaing begins India visit; defence, trade ties in focus

Myanmar President U Min Aung Hlaing on Saturday began a five-day visit to India that will be focused on ramping up bilateral cooperation in trade, connectivity, border security and defence. Aung Hlaing kicked off his trip by landing in Gaya to visit the Mahabodhi temple, ahead of his arrival in Delhi this evening. "A warm welcome to President U Min Aung Hlaing of Myanmar on his arrival in Bodh Gaya," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on social media. "His visit reflects the strong spiritual, historical and people-to-people ties that bind our two countries and the depth of our ongoing cooperation," he added. The Myanmar president was received at the airport by Bihar Governor Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd). Aung Hlaing's visit to India comes less than two months after he became the president following Myanmar's parliamentary elections. The elections were held in December and January after years of protests against the ruling military junta that seized powe

Best of BS Opinion: India feels diplomatic squeeze from W. Asia conflict

From Iran diplomacy and artificial intelligence risks to Great Nicobar strategy and Pakistan policy, today's Best of BS Opinion highlights key strategic and economic debates shaping India's outlook

Chinese FM Wang Yi visits Myanmar, meets military-backed president

China's top diplomat on Saturday visited Myanmar's capital and met with the leader of its military-backed government as part of a regional tour aimed at strengthening Beijing's political, security and strategic ties in Southeast Asia. State-run MRTV television reported that Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Min Aung Hlaing discussed enhancing Myanmar's international relations and cooperation within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Wang's visit to Naypyitaw comes after Min Aung Hlaing was sworn in as president on April 10 following an election that critics say was neither free nor fair and was designed to maintain the military's grip on power five years after it ousted Aung San Suu Kyi's civilian government. The report said Min Aung Hlaing told Wang he was pleased that the Chinese president Xi Jinping sent his congratulatory message within hours of his election. China, which has major geopolitical and economic interests in Myanmar, is Myanmar's biggest trading partner

Myanmar parliament elects ruling general Min Aung Hlaing as new president

Myanmar's parliament on Friday elected Min Aung Hlaing, a general who ousted Aung San Suu Kyi's civilian government in 2021 and kept an iron grip on power for the past five years, as the country's new president. The move marks a nominal return to an elected government but is widely considered to be an effort to keep the army in power after an election organised by the military that opponents and independent observers deemed neither free nor fair. Min Aung Hlaing was one of three nominees for the president's post, but was virtually guaranteed the job as lawmakers from military-backed parties and appointed members from the army hold a commanding majority in parliament.

Myanmar starts presidential election process under military influence

Myanmar's Parliament on Monday began the process of electing the country's next president, which will mark a nominal return to an elected government after five years of military rule, but is widely considered to be an effort to keep power in the hands of the army. The process began the same day that Senior Gen Min Aung Hlaing, the head of the military-led government, announced that he was relinquishing his concurrent post of the military's commander-in-chief. The move is a prerequisite for becoming head of state, because the Constitution prohibits the president from simultaneously holding the top military position. Min Aung Hlaing will be among three nominees to contend for the president's post, but is virtually certain to get the job as lawmakers from military-backed parties and appointed members from the military hold a commanding majority in Parliament. Here's what to know about the nominal transition to elected democracy. New president could be named by end of ...

FATF adds Kuwait, Papua New Guinea to increased monitoring list

Kuwait and Papua New Guinea have been placed under FATF's increased monitoring, while Iran, DPRK and Myanmar continue on the high-risk list requiring enhanced due diligence

Online extortion centres in Myanmar, Cambodia completely dismantled: China

China's security officials claim to have "completely dismantled" Myanmar and Cambodia based notorious Chinese criminal gangs who terrorised the world with online extortion rackets forcing people to part with their hard-earned savings. Thousands of people in India, China and several other countries were defrauded by these gangs operating in Thai-Myanmar borders and Cambodia. By the end of 2025, Chinese courts nationwide had sentenced more than 41,000 individuals repatriated from northern Myanmar for their involvement in telecom fraud, executing 16 after death sentences were pronounced against them and sentenced 39 to life terms in jail, a spokesman of China's Supreme People's Court (SPC) said. The notorious Ming and Bai family criminal gangs based in northern Myanmar have been completely dismantled, state-run Global Times quoted the spokesman as saying on Thursday. More than 27,000 first-instance cases involving telecom fraud linked to northern Myanmar had been concluded by Chinese

93% biometric enrolment of Myanmar refugees completed in Mizoram: Minister

The Mizoram government has nearly completed the biometric enrolment of refugees from Myanmar who have taken shelter across the state, Home Minister K Sapdanga informed the Assembly on Monday. The minister said that deputy commissioners are currently supervising the final phase of the process. "Altogether, 93 per cent of the biometric enrolment for Myanmar refugees was completed as of February 5. We aim to complete the remaining work as quickly as possible," he said. According to the minister, Mizoram currently hosts 38,059 people, including refugees from Myanmar and Bangladesh as well as internally displaced persons (IDPs) from neighbouring Manipur. He said the registration process, which involves collecting biometric and demographic details of asylum seekers from Bangladesh's Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT), is also underway and expected to be completed soon. A senior official of the state home department said 13 per cent of over 2,300 Bangladeshi nationals have been enrolled to ...

Tremors felt in Kolkata after earthquake hits Myanmar, Bangladesh, Tibet

Earlier on Tuesday, an earthquake of magnitude 6.0 struck Myanmar at about 9:04 PM. It occurred at a depth of 27 km, making it susceptible to aftershocks

Why Myanmar's junta plans elections during an ongoing nationwide civil war

Most analysts see the election as a way for the military, which has governed Myanmar for much of the past six decades, to entrench its rule via proxies in the absence of a viable political opposition

Asean won't endorse election in military-ruled Myanmar, says Malaysia

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations will not endorse elections in military-ruled Myanmar, Malaysia's foreign minister said Tuesday, citing concerns over the lack of inclusive and free participation. Myanmar's military-backed political party appeared headed for a parliamentary majority after the second round of voting earlier this month in the country's first general election since the army ousted a civilian government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021. The takeover triggered widespread opposition that has grown into a civil war. Human rights and opposition groups say the polls were neither free nor fair and are an effort by the military to legitimise its rule. Malaysian Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan told Parliament that ASEAN leaders decided at their summit in October not to send observers to Myanmar because conditions for a credible election were not met, though some member countries chose to do so individually. Myanmar's Information Ministry said last month that ASEAN .

Myanmar's military frees over 6,100 prisoners on independence anniversary

Myanmar's military government granted amnesty to more than 6,100 prisoners and reduced other inmates' sentences Sunday to mark the 78th anniversary of the country's independence from Britain. It was not immediately clear whether those released include the thousands of political detainees imprisoned for opposing military rule. The amnesty comes as the military government proceeds with a monthlong, three-stage election process that critics say is designed to add a facade of legitimacy to the status quo. State-run MRTV television reported that Senior Gen Min Aung Hlaing, the head of the military government, pardoned 6,134 prisoners. A separate statement said 52 foreigners will also be released and deported from Myanmar. No comprehensive list of those freed is available. Other prisoners received reduced sentences, except for those convicted of serious charges such as murder and rape or those jailed on charges under various other security acts. The release terms warn that if the freed

Polls open for military-ruled Myanmar's first general election in 5 years

Voters went to the polls on Sunday for the initial phase of Myanmar's first general election in five years, held under the supervision of its military government while a civil war rages throughout much of the country. Critics charge that the election is designed to add a facade of legitimacy to military rule, which began after the army ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021. Her party won a landslide victory in the 2020 election but was blocked from taking office for a second term. In Yangon, the country's largest city, Naypyitaw, the capital, and elsewhere, voters were casting their ballots at high schools, government buildings and religious buildings. Critics argue that the results will lack legitimacy due to the exclusion of major parties and limits on freedom of speech and an atmosphere of repression. They contend that the expected victory of the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party makes the nominal transition to civilian rule a ..

Why Myanmar is going to hold elections on December 28 amid a civil war

Critics argue the polls neither restore Myanmar's fragile democracy, dismantled by the military takeover in 2021, nor offer a pathway to ending the violence triggered by continued army rule

Myanmar to hold 1st election in 5 years as criticism of military rule grows

Myanmar will hold the first phase of a general election on Sunday, its first vote in five years and an exercise that critics say will neither restore the country's fragile democracy undone by a 2021 army takeover, nor end a devastating civil war triggered by the nation's harsh military rule. The military has framed the polls as a return to multi-party democracy, likely seeking to add a facade of legitimacy to its rule, which began after the army four years ago ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. The takeover triggered widespread popular opposition that has grown into a civil war. The fighting has complicated holding the polls in many contested areas. Voting will be held in different parts of the country in three phases, with the second on Jan. 11 and the third on Jan. 25. Human rights and opposition groups say the vote will be neither free nor fair and that power is likely to remain in the hands of military leader Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing. Critics doubt a real ..