Page 6 - Myanmar

Southeast Asian leaders meet in Laos to tackle Myanmar crisis, disputed sea

Southeast Asian leaders gathered in the capital of Laos on Wednesday for an annual regional forum that will focus on tackling the prolonged civil war in Myanmar and territorial tensions in the South China Sea. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit will also be followed by meetings with global powers including China, the US and Russia, which are contending for influence in the region. The timing of the meetings in Vientiane makes it likely that talks will also touch on the escalation of violence in the Middle East, although Southeast Asia has faced only indirect fallout. ASEAN's influence has historically been limited even among its own members, but the forum has often served as a platform for dialogues among superpowers looking to engage with the region. The 10 member states of ASEAN Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Myanmar, Cambodia, Brunei and Laos will also hold talks with their dialogue partners from elsewhere in the region including

India extend unprecedented invite to Myanmar's anti-junta forces: Report

Speaking of the seminar, Sui Khar, vice chairman of one the ethnic rebel groups, the Chin National Front, said, "We are going to send representatives"

UN accuses Myanmar's military of mass killings, torture since 2021 coup

Three years into the conflict, the UN estimates that more than 19 million people are in urgent need of humanitarian aid, with over three million displaced

India sends 32 tonnes of relief supplies to Myanmar under 'Sadbhav'

India on Tuesday sent 32 tonnes of relief supplies to Myanmar in a military transport aircraft under its operation 'Sadbhav' launched two days ago to assist Southeast Asian nations hit by a major typhoon. Various parts of Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam have been reeling under massive floods after Typhoon Yagi, said to be Asia's most powerful storm this year, hit the three countries. India has already sent relief supplies to Vietnam and Laos. On Sunday, India sent 10 tonnes of aid, including dry ration, clothing and medicines to Myanmar onboard the Indian naval ship INS Satpura. "#OperationSadbhav continues: India dispatches a second tranche of aid to Myanmar," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on 'X'. "@IAF_mcc aircraft is carrying 32 tons of relief material including genset, hygiene kits, temporary shelter, water purification supplies and medicines for the people of Myanmar," he said. "Indian Navy is bringing additional 10 tons of ration for Myanmar," Jaiswa

Myanmar's toll from Yagi rises past 200 with tallying hindered by civil war

Floods and landslides in Myanmar triggered by last week's Typhoon Yagi and seasonal monsoon rains have claimed at least 226 lives, with 77 people missing, state-run media reported Tuesday. The death toll, reported in the state-run Myanma Alinn, was almost seven times Friday's initial total of 33, with strong prospects of it continuing to rise. The counting of casualties has been slow, in part due to communication difficulties with the affected areas as Myanmar is wracked by civil war. Typhoon Yagi earlier hit Vietnam, northern Thailand and Laos, killing almost 300 people in Vietnam, 42 in Thailand and four in Laos, according to the ASEAN Coordinating Center for Humanitarian Assistance.

'Operation Sadbhav': India sends aid to typhoon-hit Myanmar, Vietnam, Laos

Typhoon Yagi: India dispatched 10 tonnes of aid to Myanmar via INS Satpura, while an Indian Air Force C-130J aircraft is delivering 35 tonnes to Vietnam and another 10 tonnes to Laos as part of relief

India launches ops to help typhoon-hit Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam; sends aid

India on Sunday sent urgent supplies to Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar under an operation christened "Sadbhav" to assist them in dealing with the devastating impact of a major typhoon. Various parts of Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam have been reeling under massive floods after Typhoon Yagi, said to be Asia's most powerful storm this year, hit the three countries. The typhoon that originated from the South China Sea made landfall over a week ago, reportedly killing more than 170 people in Vietnam and around 40 in Myanmar. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said "Operation Sadbhav" is part of India's broader effort to contribute to humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) within the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) region, in line with its "Act East Policy". India has sent humanitarian relief assistance worth USD 10,00,000 to Vietnam and USD 1,00,000 to Laos, it said. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said 10 tonnes of aid, including dry ration, clothing and .

Death toll in Myanmar from Typhoon Yagi reaches 74; dozens missing

The death toll in Myanmar from flooding and landslides caused by Typhoon Yagi has reached at least 74, with 89 people missing, Myanmar's state television said Saturday. Difficulties in compiling information have raised fears that the number of casualties may be higher. The new official death toll announced by the country's military government was more than double the 33 reported on Friday. Typhoon Yagi earlier hit Vietnam, northern Thailand and Laos, killing more than 260 people and causing major damage. The new totals were announced after state media reported that Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, the head of the ruling military council, said that Myanmar was requesting relief aid from foreign countries. Nearly 240,000 people have been displaced, according to the reports. There were already 3.4 million displaced people in Myanmar at the beginning of September, according to the UN refugee agency, mostly because of war and unrest in recent years. In Myanmar, low-lying areas in the ..

B'desh ramps up border vigilance with Myanmar as thousands of Rohingya flee

The new arrivals add to more than one million Rohingya refugees already living in overcrowded camps in Cox's Bazar district after they fled a military-led crackdown in Myanmar in 2017

Two Mizoram teens held by Myanmar militants return with shaved head, burns

With their heads tonsured and cigarette burns on bodies, two teenage boys returned home in Mizoram after being held captive by militants in adjoining Myanmar's Chin state for nearly a week, an Assam Rifles officer said on Sunday. The two boys, aged 16 and 15, were allegedly abducted by the Hualngoram unit of Chin Defence Force (CDF), one of several militant organisations fighting the military junta in Myanmar, on September 1 from Rih Dil Lake, a tourist spot in the neighbouring country near the Indian border, the officer said. "A group of five boys from Zokhawthar village in Mizoram had gone to Rih Dil Lake on motorcycles on September 1. On reaching there, they were stopped by cadres of CDF, who thrashed them because of a previous scuffle they had with some other boys from Zokhawthar," she said. Three of the five boys managed to escape and return to India while the two were held hostage by the CDF, the Assam Rifles officer said. "The two boys were kept in Rih Dil area for two days

US calls on Big Tech to help evade online censors in Russia, Iran

OTF's pitch to tech companies at the meeting was to help offer discounted or subsidized server bandwidth

Thousands of Rohingya flee to Bangladesh from violence in Myanmar: Official

Bangladesh is already over-burdened and unable to accommodate any more Rohingya," he told Reuters on Wednesday

Proposed UN resolution on Myanmar condemns military attacks on civilians

Britain circulated a wide-ranging United Nations resolution on Myanmar urging renewed peace efforts, condemning attacks on civilians especially by the Myanmar military and calling for a halt to illicit arms transfers. The draft resolution obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press expresses alarm at the increased violence across Myanmar, which is engulfed in civil war between the military-led regime and resistance forces. It calls for safe, rapid, and unhindered humanitarian access at scale," expressing grave concern at the deteriorating humanitarian situation and restrictions on humanitarian access in the country that led to rising food insecurity and hunger. The proposed resolution warns that the current situation has the potential to further exacerbate discrimination, ethnically motivated violence, violations of international humanitarian law, human rights abuses, and conflict-related sexual violence. Myanmar's military ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi on Feb. 1

Why is China set to hold live-fire military drills along Myanmar border?

In response to growing security concerns, China had held two live-fire drills in April along its border with Myanmar

China conducting military patrols near Myanmar border as civil war rages

China's military is carrying out armed patrols near the Myanmar border this week, where the government is concerned about potential fallout from fierce fighting in a civil war on the other side. Troops were deployed to Yunnan province in southwestern China on Monday to test their ability to maintain security in border areas, the military's Southern Theater Command said. An alliance of ethnic militias has dealt a series of setbacks to Myanmar's military in the country's northeast, which is near China. Five people were injured on the Chinese side in January by a stray artillery shell. Live-fire drills will be held from Tuesday to Thursday in four locations including two in Ruili city, the Yunnan government said. The units will carry out armed patrols and joint air-ground patrols to test their ability to mobilize quickly, block and control and strike together, the southern command said in a statement. The military previously held live-fire drills near the Myanmar border in ...

UN rights chief raises alarm about trapped Rohingya civilians in Myanmar

The UN's human rights chief joined a chorus of concern on Friday for members of Myanmar's Muslim Rohingya ethnic minority after many were reported killed in recent fighting between the military government and the Arakan Army, an armed ethnic rebel group. According to a statement from the Geneva office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Trk, he expressed grave alarm and raised profound concerns about the sharply deteriorating situation across Myanmar, particularly in Rakhine State where hundreds of civilians have reportedly been killed while trying to flee the fighting. It said his agency had documented that both the military and the Arakan Army, which now controls most of the townships in Rakhine, have committed serious human rights violations and abuses against the Rohingya, including extrajudicial killings, some involving beheadings, abductions, forced recruitment, indiscriminate bombardments of towns and villages using drones and artillery, and arson attacks. The

What peace in Bangladesh, Myanmar means for security in India's Northeast

Together with the escalation in Pakistan-sponsored terrorism in Jammu, the deteriorating security architecture in Myanmar and Bangladesh will test the Indian government in new and complex ways

Myanmar releases Japanese exec arrested for selling rice above set prices

A Japanese business executive who was detained in Myanmar for more than a month has been released after being convicted of violating rice pricing rules, officials said Tuesday. Hiroshi Kasamatsu, a director of the Myanmar supermarket Aeon Orange, was in custody in Myanmar since his June 30 arrest for selling rice at prices above the official regulations. Japan's Foreign Ministry confirmed Monday that the Japanese national was convicted of violating law related to daily necessities and service. He was sentenced to one year in prison and fined 500,000 kyat (about USD 150). Kasamatsu was freed Monday afternoon, said Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun, spokesperson for the Myanmar's ruling military council. The Japanese Foreign Ministry said it was unclear if Kasamatsu would stay in Myanmar or return to Japan. He was released from custody and is in good health, it said, but declined to give further details. Rice is vital in Myanmar, a country struggling to stabilize its economy as civil war disrup

Amid maritime disputes, Myanmar crisis, Asean meetings joined by US, China

Top diplomats from Southeast Asia convened Saturday in the Laotian capital with their powerful dialogue partners in the last of the three-day regional talks that have grappled with tensions over territorial claims in the South China Sea, escalating fighting in Myanmar, and regional rivalry. Meetings on Saturday will bring together in the same room allies of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations including the United States, China, Russia, Japan, India and Australia to bolster their relationships and discuss key security issues and other regional affairs. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived Saturday in Vientiane to meet with the ASEAN foreign ministers. He is also expected to meet on the sidelines with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, as both countries are looking to expand their influence in the region. Lao Foreign Minister Saleumxay Kommasith opened the first meeting of the day with China, Japan and South Korea by saying he hopes the cooperation framework, called ..

NSA Doval visits Myanmar, expresses concerns over ongoing violence

NSA Ajit Doval met his Myanmarese counterpart Admiral Moe Aung and is understood to have conveyed New Delhi's concerns over the impact of violence and instability in Myanmar on its border with India. Doval is in Myanmarese capital Naypyidaw to attend a meeting of security chiefs of member nations of BIMSTEC grouping, according to the Indian embassy in Yangon. Myanmar has been witnessing wide-spread violent protests demanding restoration of democracy since the military seized power in a coup on February 1, 2021. Several parts of Myanmar have been witnessing intense fighting between the military junta and resistance forces. The resistance forces have already captured several towns. "NSA Shri Ajit Doval is leading the Indian delegation at the 4th Annual Meeting of #BIMSTEC Security Chiefs being held in Naypyitaw today. He met with the Myanmar NSA Admiral Moe Aung yesterday, and BIMSTEC Security Chiefs called on Prime Minister Senior General Min Aung Hlaing," the Indian embassy said in