Burma’s neighbors can help it escape the past      

The advent of military rule in 1962 set Burma on a path of political and social experimentation that created both economic instability as well as structural rigidity. These features continue to characterize the economy of present-day Burma. (The Jakarta Globe)

(click on the headline to continue)  

Burma’s new leader could emulate B.J. Habibie  
  

Comparisons are often made between Indonesia and Burma; two Southeast Asian nations where the militarization of politics, democracy struggles, their achievements and transitional phases, have defined their people’s recent histories. (The Jakarta Post)

(click on the headline to continue)  

Myanmar: Suu Kyi  and the government      

Is Suu Kyi becoming bold to test the patience of the government? Why did Aung Kyi, the minister fro labour ad social welfare acting as liaison officer for the government, have two meetings with Suu Kyi within two weeks? Is there a thaw in the offing? Will the National League for Democracy (NLD) register itself as a political party? These and many more questions have cropped up as the events unfolded in Myanmar since the beginning of July 2011. (The South Asia Analysis Group)

(click on the headline to continue)

Thailand’s foreign relations under the new government   

The Kachin people, marginalised by the Burmese government, are willing to fight for survival. Is China the only hope for preventing all-out war? (The Diplomat)

(click on the headline to continue)

Myanmar’s delicate dance with ASEAN    
  

In a controversial visit by a Burmese delegation to China, President Thein Sein recently announced that Naypyidaw fully supports Beijing’s contention that it owns most of the South China Sea (to which at least six other Asian states have historically laid claim). Separately, recent speeches by both U.S. Senator John McCain and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have pointed out Naypyidaw’s failure to improve its abysmal human-rights record, despite its membership in ASEAN since 1997. At first glance, it seems that ASEAN’s influence over Naypyidaw is minimal at best, and that Myanmar has been grossly disloyal to its nine Southeast Asian partners. (CogitAsia)

(click on the headline to continue)

China’s hand in the renewed civil war in Burma   
  
The current armed conflict in Burma's northern Kachin State has effectively ended nearly two decades of ceasefire between the country's second largest ethnic army, the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), and the newly sworn-in Naypyidaw government, bringing a strategic region near the Chinese border to the verge of a civil war. (The Irrawaddy)

(click on the headline to continue)

Betting on Burma: Why one of the Asia’s thorniest territories deserves a hand 

Why is it that when we think of Burma, we rarely think of its people? Images of Burma tend to capture street portraits of Aung San Suu Kyi, men in large hats and uniforms and for the cognoscenti, a kaleidoscope of Golden Stupas, old World War II movies and George Orwell dressed as a highly unconvincing Burmese policeman. (The Jakarta Globe)

(click on the headline to continue)

EU sanctions on Burma: What next?   
   

On 12 April, the European Union announced that the trade and financial sanctions imposed on Myanmar would be continued for another year. However, travel restrictions on a few civilian members of Myanmar’s government were relaxed. The extension of these sanctions includes a travel ban on high-level officials of the 27 member group of the EU, but excludes junior-level officials. Although there is no perceptible deviance from the official position maintained by the EU on Myanmar, these developments warrant a re-examination of the relations between Myanmar and the EU. (The Eurasia Review)

(click on the headline to continue)

2014: It’s ‘make or brake’ for Burma’s chair bid   
   

One day before the 18^th ASEAN summit began in Jakarta, the US sent an urgent message to Indonesia – the ASEAN chair – Thailand, Singapore and the Philippines simultaneously saying now was the time to push for real progress in Burma otherwise it would be difficult to envisage any US president attending the East Asia Summit there in 2014. The message was a reminder to ASEAN that reforms in Burma and the choice of the ASEAN chair would impact on the overall scheme of US-ASEAN relations, which have been strengthened further since Washington acceded to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation. (The Nation)

(click on the headline to continue)

Asian Allies Back Burma Uneasily   
   

Already Burma’s new civilian government poses problems for its Asian allies as it tries to woo the international community. The month-old quasi-civilian administration, led by President Thein Sein has launched a new diplomatic charm offensive in an effort to get international approval for the cosmetic changes that have been introduced under the guise of a new civilian government. (The Irrawaddy)

(click on the headline to continue)     

Burma does not deserve any extra credit from ASEAN  

Since its admission into Asean in 1997, Burma has been dragging the regional grouping down. For the past 14 years the Asean leaders have been very patient with the new member of the family; they have shown a great deal of faith in their controversial neighbour. For over a decade, they have waited in vain for real political change in the country. The junta has almost completed its seven-point political "reform" process and is waiting to become the Asean chair in 2014. At the end of last month the Burmese strongman General Than Shwe successfully set up a civilian government, but it was done via a rigged election. The new Burmese parliament is filled with military figures and junta cronies. Now Than Shwe wants a rubber stamp from Asean.           (The Nation)

(click on the headline to continue)

Burma seeking to be the chairman of ASEAN in 2014   
   

Can Burma have its cake and eat it too? The answer rests with ASEAN. Right after the new civilian government was installed at the end of March in Naypyidaw, one of the first important tasks President Thein Sein did was to submit a letter to the ASEAN Secretariat stating Burma’s readiness to take up the grouping’s chair in 2014. (The Nation)

(click on the headline to continue)     

Burma’s President-Elect: A Clever Puppet?   

Upon inspection, the make-up of Burma’s “new” government much resembles the old. The only apparent difference from the military regime that has run the country for the past two decades is that certain job titles have changed to accommodate the facade of a civilian government and some ministers who had fallen out of favor with junta chief Snr-Gen Than Shwe have been replaced by their deputies. (The Irrawaddy)

(click on the headline to continue)

Burmese sanctions likely to stay, despite ASEAN call   

Barely months after the highly controversial general elections in Burma, ASEAN has re-visited the issue of lifting international economic sanctions against the country of over 50 million people. Ostensibly intended to isolate the military regime and pressure the country to reform its totalitarian government and improve its humanitarian practices, sanctions arguably have not effected their intended results. (East Asia Forum)

(click on the headline to continue)

Dismantling the Divide: Burma Takes One Tiny Step in the Right Direction   

For the past 22 years, Burma has been a country without politics. During this period, the country’s military rulers have exercised the powers of the state without the slightest claims to political legitimacy, while its citizens have largely stayed away from politics altogether, knowing that all who entered this sphere of public life did so at their peril. (The Jakarta Globe)

(click on the headline to continue)

Time to Think Anew and Act Anew on Myanmar (Burma) 
Myanmar (Burma) is in the news again -- thanks to Wikileaks, the recent release from house arrest of Nobel Peace Prize opposition icon Aung San Suu Kyi and fallout from the November 7 controlled election billed as a step in moving toward nominal civilian rule. (Asia Pacific Bulletin)

(click on the headline to continue)