Human Rights Watch Burma Myanmar

Khin Khin Soe, the spokesperson for Myanmar’s military-controlled parliament, urged the Japanese government on June 30 to resume development aid to the country. At a news conference in Naypyidaw, Myanmar’s capital, the spokesperson said “ordinary citizens will suffer” from Japan’s continued suspension of new aid.

The Japanese government should not resume new development assistance while Myanmar’s military continues to commit widespread atrocities with impunity, represses the rights of Myanmar’s people, and interferes with the delivery of humanitarian aid. Instead, Tokyo should increase pressure on Myanmar’s military by working with other governments to tighten targeted sanctions against junta leaders and military-owned conglomerates.

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Japan Should Reject Myanmar Junta’s Call for Development Aid Khin Khin Soe, the spokesperson for Myanmar’s military-controlled parliament, urged the Japanese government on June 30 to resume development aid to the country.

The recent arrest of a prominent political analyst on Myanmar visiting China demonstrates Beijing’s intensifying intolerance of any independent voices or viewpoints not to their liking.

On June 3, Chinese authorities reportedly detained Min Zin, a US citizen from Myanmar and the executive director of the Institute for Strategy and Policy-Myanmar, as he flew into Yunnan province for meetings at the invitation of an academic institution. The Chinese Foreign Ministry confirmed the arrest, stating that Min Zin had engaged in “espionage activities that endanger China’s national security.”

Min Zin’s think tank documents the Myanmar political landscape, including China-Myanmar relations since the Myanmar military’s 2021 coup. China is the Myanmar junta’s primary source of financial, military, and diplomatic support. Junta leader Min Aung Hlaing met with China’s President Xi Jinping on June 16 during a weeklong visit to China, Min Aung Hlaing’s first since he installed himself as president following sham elections.

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Research Is Not a Crime The recent arrest of a prominent political analyst on Myanmar visiting China demonstrates Beijing’s intensifying intolerance of any independent voices or viewpoints not to their liking.

Two years after the Arakan Army, an ethnic armed group, killed and wounded hundreds of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar’s Rakhine State and burned down their village, the survivors are still denied justice and cannot return to their homes. Human Rights Watch

Myanmar: No Redress for Rohingya Muslims in Arakan Army Massacre Two years after the Arakan Army, an ethnic armed group, killed and wounded hundreds of Rohingya Muslims and burned down their village in Myanmar’s Rakhine State, the survivors remain unable to return home, with many effectively detained.

With Timor-Leste joining ASEAN there is an opportunity to shift the center of gravity on Myanmar - coordinating diplomatic messages with sanctioning governments, supporting accountability initiatives and stronger U.N. Security Council action, and resisting efforts to normalize the junta through sham polls and the new proxy parliament.

Since the military coup in Myanmar five years ago, ASEAN’s response has been feeble and ineffectual. Leaders have deferred to non-interference and consensus as a convenient cover for inaction, even as the junta’s atrocities in Myanmar escalate.

Some ASEAN states have grown increasingly uncomfortable with the junta’s intransigence. Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, and the Philippines have adopted firmer positions and rhetoric. Courts in Timor-Leste, Indonesia and the Philippines are considering cases brought against the Myanmar military under universal jurisdiction. Meanwhile states like Thailand undermine those efforts by visiting Nyapyidaw in an effort to normalize Myanmar’s relationship with ASEAN.

Elaine Pearson, Asia Director's oped in The Diplomat:

A Test for Timor-Leste, and ASEAN, on Myanmar Timor-Leste’s accession has created a rare opening for ASEAN to clarify whether it stands for anything more than procedural restraint.

Who Benefits from 🇹🇭 Foreign Minister’s Visit to Myanmar?

So long as Myanmar’s junta is unwilling to seriously address human rights concerns, Sihasak’s efforts to develop a closer relationship seem misguided. 🇹🇭 & the rest of ASEAN should step up efforts to press the junta to unconditionally release all political prisoners, end the political repression & cease its unlawful military attacks on civilians.

Who Benefits from Thai Foreign Minister’s Visit to Myanmar? Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow visited Naypyidaw, the capital of Myanmar, on Wednesday. But it is hard to know what the visit accomplished.

On March 28, 2025, a 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck central Myanmar, killing thousands and devastating communities already affected by armed conflict, displacement, and economic collapse.

Waves of overlapping crises—humanitarian, man-made, and natural—continue to threaten the lives and well-being of people across Myanmar. The junta has driven these conditions. Governments should increase pressure on the military to protect the rights of everyone in Myanmar, now and in future disasters.

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A Year on from Myanmar’s Earthquake On March 28, 2025, a 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck central Myanmar, killing thousands and devastating communities already affected by armed conflict, displacement, and economic collapse.