37 h. ago Why India is losing ground over Bangladesh and Myanmar to regional rivals

India is facing multiple geopolitical challenges in the region as Bangladesh and Myanmar show signs of drifting away from New Delhi’s orbit amid its long-standing disputes with Pakistan and China. Dhaka has been drawing closer to Islamabad following the downfall in 2024 of its former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who had close ties with Delhi during her rule, while China has continued to maintain its influence in Myanmar since the junta in Naypyidaw ousted the elected government in a coup in...

Politics

61 h. ago Asean urged to rethink stance as Myanmar election risks normalising junta rule

With Myanmar in the throes of an election widely expected to return its military junta to power, calls have renewed for Asean to rethink its approach of not engaging the regime. The region, observers warn, should also brace itself for the “very real possibility” that half of Southeast Asia might eventually recognise the results of Myanmar’s election and by extension the ruling junta. On Sunday, Myanmar began its second round of voting in the country’s first general election since the military...

Politics

4 d. ago Singapore urged to expand Johor SEZ to Indonesia to deepen Asean integration

A special economic zone between Singapore and the Malaysian state of Johor (JS-SEZ) should include Indonesia’s Riau Islands to ramp up the region’s allure to global investors, an apex business chamber and leading accounting firm have said, ahead of the city state’s budget address next month. As part of its 18 top recommendations, the Singapore Business Federation (SBF), which has more than 32,000 members, and PwC Singapore on Monday said expanding the zone to include the Indonesian islands of...

Politics

2 w. ago Malaysia’s Anwar says Asean to assess Myanmar after ‘premature’ polls

Asean will assess developments in Myanmar following the first phase of elections and avoid actions that would “confer premature legitimacy” to any party, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said on Tuesday. His comments came as Myanmar’s dominant pro-military party claimed an overwhelming victory in the first phase of the elections after democracy watchdogs warned the junta-run poll would only entrench military rule. The armed forces snatched power in a 2021 coup that triggered civil war, but...

Events

2 w. ago Why Myanmar’s junta election cannot hide a collapsing economy

Myanmar’s junta-held election will not mask the nation’s dire economic condition, experts warn, as civil war drives some of the highest inflation in Asia, power shortages hack at production and the country’s military rulers seek fast cash from the sale of rare earths and kickbacks from drugs and scams. The military has begun a phased election, with voting in some areas taking place on Sunday and further rounds planned in January, a process critics say is designed to project control rather than...

Politics

2 w. ago Myanmar polls open amid civil war as junta seeks to prolong power

Overshadowed by civil war and doubts about the credibility of the polls, voters in Myanmar were casting their ballots in a general election starting on Sunday, the first since a military coup toppled the last civilian government in 2021. The junta that has since ruled Myanmar says the vote is a chance for a fresh start politically and economically for the impoverished Southeast Asian nation. But the election has been derided by critics – including the United Nations, some Western countries and...

Events

3 w. ago What’s happening in Myanmar’s civil war as military stages elections?

What’s happening in Myanmar’s civil war as military stages elections?  Al Jazeera

Events

3 w. ago ‘Lost my future’: Myanmar’s ‘charade’ election dims hopes of diaspora

Taya says her life was looking up as Myanmar crept out from decades of isolation. She had a job in marketing, enough money to shop in Yangon’s new malls and fuel her quiet dreams of opening a small bakery, as her generation enjoyed unprecedented economic and personal freedoms. But that was before Myanmar’s short-lived experiment with greater democracy ended in a coup in 2021. With the military once more in charge, the economy is in free fall, and inflation has surged to well over 20 per cent....

Politics

3 w. ago Rohingya crisis deepens as Myanmar election offers no hope for return

Rashid arrived in Langkawi in Malaysia after weeks at sea in a fishing boat crammed with Myanmar’s unwanted: Rohingya Muslims driven out by soldiers and ethnic Buddhist militias who had razed their villages. A decade on, the now 14-year-old has witnessed countless boats arrive on the island over the years, as his stateless community continues to flee persecution. “We did not choose Malaysia because we thought it was a good or nice country,” he told This Week in Asia, requesting to give only his...

Politics

4 w. ago Myanmar hospital air strikes heighten election turmoil amid global inaction

The Myanmar junta’s recent air strikes on a hospital just days before a general election this month are aimed at securing more territory and “intimidating” voters while major powers look the other way due to their own economic and strategic interests, according to analysts. The country’s junta said last Wednesday’s air strikes on a hospital in Mrauk-U in the western state of Rakhine were part of a counterterrorism operation targeting armed groups using the facility as a base for their...

Politics