Myanmar 20241022: Intensity, Passion, Zeal
Mekong Memo Myanmar Weekly: Business, politics, finance, trade & legal news.
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Here is this week’s edition of the Mekong Memo for Myanmar.
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Headlines:
Currency Manipulation Risks Economic Collapse
China Shutters Border Crossings, Secures Mining
Russian Warships Arrive for Joint Exercises
Russian Language Training for Civil Servants
Junta Launches Poverty Alleviation Project
Drone Warfare Results in GPS Jamming
Teachers Risk Lives for Education
Accuracy of Census Brought Into Question
Factory Abuse Uncovered
U.S.-China Rivalry Shapes Conflict
Inside Look at NLD Economic Reforms
RSF Supports Myanmar Journalists
Junta Cracks Down on Border Smuggling
Poet Turned Militia Leader
Currency Manipulation Risks Economic Collapse
The military regime has distorted foreign exchange markets by forcing exporters to convert foreign earnings at artificially low rates, siphoning off a third of their revenue. These funds are funneled into the military's war effort, while inflation soars and economic activity declines. The regime’s desperate tactics, including money printing, are destabilizing the kyat, fueling poverty, and risking economic collapse, as major exports like garments and gas continue to fall.
Read more: The Economist
China Shutters Border Crossings, Secures Mining
Chinese authorities have shut down border crossings linked to territories controlled by the Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO) after the group rejected a Chinese request to bring a stop to military operations. The closure follows the KIO's ongoing offensive against Myanmar's military junta. Separately, a senior Chinese diplomat met with officials from the Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO) following the group's capture of Chipwe, a town known for rare-earth mining operations. The meeting belies China's interest in the region's stability and resources, particularly given the strategic importance of rare earth elements.
Read more: Myanmar Now (Border Crossings), Myanmar Now (Rare Earth Mining)
Russian Warships Arrive for Joint Exercises
A group of Russian warships has arrived in Myanmar for joint maritime exercises. Four corvettes and a logistics vessel from Russia's Pacific Fleet docked at Thilawa port in Yangon. The vessels will conduct "harbor phase" exercises, though details remain limited.
Read more: News.Az
Russian Language Training for Civil Servants
The junta is offering Russian language training to employees of some ministries in the capital city of Naypyitaw. Russian-speaking military officers are conducting these sessions, suggesting a shift in Myanmar's international alignments and deepening ties with Russia as Western governments continue to operate at arm’s length.
Read more: Myanmar Now
Junta Launches Poverty Alleviation Project
The junta has launched a model village project in Ohnpinsu village, Ayeyawady Region, with support from the Mekong-Lancang Cooperation Special Fund. The project is part of an initiative to reduce poverty at the village level and promote development. The junta is looking to shore up its legitimacy through development projects, and it will be interesting to see how this one plays out.
Read more: Mizzima
Drone Warfare Results in GPS Jamming
Myanmar has become a hotspot for GPS jamming in Asia, with satellite-guided navigation disruptions putting regional aviation at risk. These jamming activities come along with an escalation in drone warfare between the military and resistance forces. While some areas have seen substantial GPS interference, there are no reports of civilian aircraft being affected so far. The situation is similar to what we have seen with GPS issues in Europe’s war zones, and it is clear that international attention will need to be brought about to ensure aviation safety.
Read more: The Diplomat
Teachers Risk Lives for Education
Teachers are risking their lives to make sure children are able to receive and education despite the conflict and citizen displacement. Many of them are teaching covertly, facing danger to defend children's right to education.
Read more: Frontier Myanmar
Accuracy of Census Brought Into Question
The junta is being criticized over its rushed and allegedly flawed nationwide census, which has been extended due to difficulties reaching conflict areas. Pro-democracy forces accuse the regime of using the census to manipulate future elections and for military conscription. With much of the country in civil war and over three million internally displaced, the census is widely seen as inaccurate and politically motivated, compounding the nation's instability.
Read more: The Federal (Census Failures), NHK World (Census Extension)
Factory Abuse Uncovered
An investigation by RFA's Myanmar Service has revealed widespread abuse of workers at a shoe factory owned by South Korea's E-Land Group. Allegations include violence, rape, and deaths going unchecked. This follows a similar investigation in June that exposed abuse at a Myanmar garment factory owned by Korean firm Hansae.
Read more: RFA
U.S.-China Rivalry Shapes Conflict
The conflict between Myanmar's military government and resistance forces is increasingly influenced by U.S.-China rivalry. This geopolitical competition is creating rifts within the opposition to the regime, complicating already complex internal dynamics.
Read more: Nikkei Asia
Inside Look at NLD Economic Reforms
Sean Turnell's book "Best Laid Plans" provides an insider perspective on economic reform efforts during the National League for Democracy (NLD) era. As a special economic consultant to Aung San Suu Kyi, Turnell offers insights into the challenges and strategies of economic development in pre-coup Myanmar.
Read more: The Irrawaddy
RSF Supports Myanmar Journalists
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has launched an emergency support program for Myanmar journalists. The program will provide financial assistance to independent media outlets, enabling them to continue reporting despite the threats that face them daily. The initiative was launched in Chiang Mai, where many Myanmar journalists have fled to in order to stay out of the conflict.
Read more: RSF (Journalist Support)
Junta Cracks Down on Border Smuggling
The government is working to combat smuggling along the Thai border. Officials have increased searches for "smuggled" goods in Mon and Karen states following directives from deputy junta chief Soe Win. The crackdown is intended to better regulate imports, but also, crucially, to cut off funding to armed organizations.
Read more: The Irrawaddy
And now for something completely different.
While the focus of The Memo is on news for business, we often wrap with a less business-focused article.
NASA released a snapshot taken by an astronaut of the Irrawaddy from the International Space Station, here you can see photos of a rescue of highly endangered Irrawaddy dolphins, and a touching tribute to a photojournalist who died at age 33 under mysterious circumstances in Chiang Mai. We will leave you this week with a story about a poet who has decided to focus his energies on the fight for democracy:
Poet Turned Militia Leader
Former poet Maung Saungkha, once an activist for free speech, now commands a militia of more than 1,000 fighters in the civil war against the military junta. Disillusioned by the regime’s violent repression of peaceful protests, Saungkha leads his Bamar People’s Liberation Army from the jungle, training young recruits in guerrilla warfare. The brutal conflict has intensified since the military's 2021 coup, and rebel forces now control large swaths of the country, but Saungkha’s ultimate goal remains a reclamation of democracy for Myanmar.
Read more: Der Spiegel
That’s it for this week… THANK YOU.
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