Articles | Lowy Institute

30 May 2023
Myanmar
Myanmar’s intelligence war: the battle of wits and wiles against the junta

Andrew Selth

In a country where spies and informers have been ever-present, the opposition has built its own intelligence apparatus.
1 May 2023
Myanmar
Chinese spy bases on Myanmar’s Great Coco Island? Here we go again

Andrew Selth

A little history should help dampen some wild speculation about eavesdropping facilities in the Indian Ocean.
5 Apr 2023
Myanmar

Russia

Ukraine

Human rights

International law

War Crimes
What of the Rohingya? The ICC, Ukraine, and limits of “international” justice

Aakash Chandran , Jennifer Keene-McCann , Emma Palmer

The International Criminal Court will always be seen as a selective tool unless states agree to decide cases on need.
22 Mar 2023
Asean

Indonesia

Myanmar

Australia
Can ASEAN forge a political solution in Myanmar?

Rebecca Barber

Indonesia and Australia have different but equally critical roles in bringing the junta to the negotiating table.
1 Feb 2023
Myanmar

Australia

Human rights
Australia’s Myanmar sanctions: now for the real decisions

Susannah Patton

Two years after the coup, there are still many reasons why Canberra is stepping cautiously with its punitive measures.
7 Dec 2022
Myanmar

Australian Foreign Aid

Migration
Australia could lead the way on Rohingya crisis

Arunn Jegan

Canberra is well placed to broker a new deal for resettling the region’s most vulnerable refugees.
15 Nov 2022
Malaysia

Myanmar

Human rights

Migration

United Nations
Refugees may become victims of Malaysia’s electoral politics

Max Walden

The plight of Myanmar Rohingyas exposes Southeast Asia’s disjointed policies and fragile human rights protections.
8 Nov 2022
Bangladesh

China

India

Myanmar
How China, India and Bangladesh could be drawn into Myanmar’s conflict

David Brewster

Rakhine state has become a de facto battleground for the competing interests of Beijing, Delhi and Dhaka.
29 Sep 2022
Myanmar

Australia
Myanmar: a desperate junta trying, and failing, to shore up its legitimacy

Adam Simpson

Sentencing Sean Turnell to jail won’t help the Myanmar junta’s international isolation or its domestic problems.
20 Sep 2022
Bangladesh

Myanmar

Human rights

International law
The Rohingya issue requires a regional solution

David Brewster

Leaving close to a million people in limbo poses a danger not only for the refugees but to regional peace.
22 Aug 2022
India

Indonesia

Myanmar

Sri Lanka

Climate change
Blue economy may be the key to South Asia's upswing

Samriddhi Roy

Why governance, blue bonds and women are critical to a thriving ocean-based economy.
2 Aug 2022
Myanmar

War Crimes

United Nations

Human rights
ASEAN governments need to act on Myanmar

Elaine Pearson

The execution of four opposition activists by the junta needs urgent action from governments of all stripes.
14 Apr 2022
Myanmar
The problem with postcards from Myanmar

JJ Rose

Borders are opening to welcome back tourists. But it’s not just Covid that poses a risk.
12 Apr 2022
Sustainability

Myanmar

Cambodia

China

Thailand

Vietnam

Laos
How the Mekong River Commission ignores reality

Milton Osborne

Nothing is worth celebrating in how a once mighty wild river has been cruelly tamed.
28 Feb 2022
Diplomacy

Myanmar

Russia

Ukraine
Australia was quick to sanction Moscow. Why not Myanmar?

Jessica Collins

It was right to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. But that’s different to military aggression much closer to home.
23 Feb 2022
War Crimes

United Nations

Myanmar

Human rights

International law
It’s a mistake to allow Myanmar’s junta to appear in Rohingya case

Adam Simpson , Juliette McIntyre

Accepting military representatives in the genocide defence serves to lend the coup an undeserved legitimacy.
17 Feb 2022
Myanmar
Myanmar’s military numbers

Andrew Selth

Simply comparing the estimated number of combatants on the two sides is not a valid basis to assess combat capabilities.
16 Feb 2022
Myanmar

China
Handle with care: China’s economic engagement in Myanmar

Xue Gong

Beijing’s state-driven businesses have learned to adapt and adopt in the shadow of democratic openings and coups d’état.
10 Feb 2022
Australia

Myanmar

Human rights
Will Australia use its amended sanctions act against Myanmar?

Jessica Collins

Coordinated international pressure on the coup leaders is urgently needed to stave off a growing humanitarian crisis.
31 Jan 2022
Asean

Myanmar
ASEAN and Myanmar: No sign of progress

Roshni Kapur

Despite aiming to promote regional stability, the grouping has struggled to find consensus after the coup in Naypyidaw.
10 Jan 2022
India's Navy

Myanmar

India

Bangladesh

Sri Lanka

Maldives

Seychelles
Indian Ocean step-up

David Brewster

India is in the driver’s seat to build new security structures in the region, but it can’t do it alone.
30 Dec 2021
Asean

Myanmar
The junta takes back Myanmar – Best of The Interpreter 2021

The Interpreter

A coup in February sparked countrywide protests and challenged the region to respond.
17 Nov 2021
Myanmar
Myanmar: Totalitarian terror shouldn’t fly on our watch

David Fawcett

Australia should join applying sanctions – and if necessary, support a no-fly zone – to stop killings by the junta.
22 Oct 2021
Asean

Myanmar
ASEAN muddles through on Myanmar

Ben Bland

An interesting regional precedent is set by the decision to stop the junta leader attending upcoming summit meetings.
20 Oct 2021
Asean

Myanmar
If pushed far enough, would Myanmar leave ASEAN?

Andrew Selth

Some generals once feared joining the regional body would expose Myanmar to foreign pressures.
21 Sep 2021
Myanmar

Human rights
Myanmar’s extreme Buddhist nationalists

Amresh Lavan Gunasingham

The release of hard-line Buddhist monk Ashin Wirathu bodes ill for the rights of the country's religious minorities.
10 Aug 2021
United Nations

Myanmar
The battle for Myanmar’s seat in the UN General Assembly

Catherine Renshaw

An empty chair in New York would be a potent reflection of the situation on the ground in post-coup Myanmar.
12 Jul 2021
Myanmar

Coronavirus
Covid crisis deepens in junta-ruled Myanmar

David Hopkins

Patchwork restrictions haven’t contained the virus. And now the danger is spilling over the border to neighbours.
28 Jun 2021
Myanmar

Sex and Gender
Supporting the victims of sexual violence in Myanmar

Sara E Davies , Phyu Phyu Oo

With the military often complicit in crimes, access to civil society organisations is increasingly difficult.
15 Jun 2021
Terrorism

Myanmar
Myanmar, terrorism and the demands of international politics

Andrew Selth

Name-calling is one thing, but the new kind of civil war may cause problems for the opposition movement.
10 Jun 2021
Asean

Myanmar
Myanmar pushes ASEAN to the brink

Nicola Williams

But there are lessons from other regional organisations in responding to a coup and political crisis.
26 May 2021
Asean

Myanmar

China

Southeast Asia
Myanmar is not the next Syria

Henry Storey

Comparisons may help draw attention to the crisis, but they ignore essential differences.
24 May 2021
Diplomacy

Asean

Myanmar
ASEAN’s huge gamble on Myanmar

Chen Lee

If it doesn’t move quickly on its hard-won consensus, the organisation risks letting the junta call the shots.
13 May 2021
Myanmar
Myanmar and a new kind of civil war

Andrew Selth

Urban dissidents trained by battle-hardened guerillas in the countryside could make things harder for the Tatmadaw.
29 Apr 2021
United Nations

Myanmar

Human rights
Response to Myanmar coup shows need for UN reform

Rebecca Barber

Veto power on the Security Council too often obstructs action in the face of atrocities. Here are some ways around it.
27 Apr 2021
Asean

Myanmar
Guiding Myanmar away from ruin

Catherine Renshaw

Many Southeast Asian nations have struggled with authoritarianism. Maybe the family can steer Myanmar straight.
26 Apr 2021
Diplomacy

Multilateral Institutions

Asean

Myanmar

Indonesia

Southeast Asia

Human rights
Indonesia raises ASEAN’s bar on Myanmar

Ben Bland

President Joko Widodo had nothing to gain domestically in calling a special summit. But in not failing, he succeeded.
21 Apr 2021
Asean

Myanmar

Indonesia
Indonesia gambles on special ASEAN summit on Myanmar

Johannes Nugroho

Joko Widodo may have an eye to his legacy by inviting the junta to Jakarta, but it could also cost his prestige.
24 Mar 2021
Myanmar
The upward spiral of violence in Myanmar

Andrew Selth

Past experience shows the protesters’ options are limited – fight back and the fight will only get harder.
22 Mar 2021
Asean

Myanmar
Myanmar coup: ASEAN’s quiet diplomacy is more constructive

Hui Ying Lee

Critics of the Southeast Asian organisation’s response miss the opportunity that is offered by trusted engagement.
12 Mar 2021
Global Issues

United States

US Elections

Institutions

Myanmar
A smarter use of voting technology to stop election-related violence

Iona Main

Maybe in the search for efficiency we sometimes overcomplicate things, and the better solution is to get back to basics.
11 Mar 2021
Asia

Global Economy

Myanmar

China
Economic diplomacy: The business of coups and China’s Quad response

Greg Earl

Companies are finding themselves torn between conscience and keeping the lights on when it comes to Myanmar.
11 Mar 2021
Myanmar
Myanmar’s personalised politics

Andrew Selth

It can be simplistic to reduce complex problems to two stubborn people, but we can wonder about what might have been.
19 Feb 2021
Myanmar
Myanmar’s coup will test the loyalty of the security forces

Andrew Selth

Don’t assume the various armed forces organisations are just a mindless mass prepared to do whatever they are told.
11 Feb 2021
Myanmar
The importance of Myanmar’s pots and pans protests

Phyu Phyu Oo

Popular resistance to the military coup has taken a variety of forms, some of them harder to silence than others.
8 Feb 2021
Myanmar
Myanmar: Calling a coup a coup

Adam Simpson

The military argues that it has operated within the country’s constitution. That’s simply not true.
3 Feb 2021
Myanmar
Myanmar’s empty promise of constitutional reform

Melissa Crouch

Democracy campaigners tried to play by the military’s rules. They suffered for it anyway.
3 Feb 2021
Myanmar
The coup in Myanmar: What do we know?

Andrew Selth

The trigger for a military takeover remains unclear. Plenty of good questions have very few satisfactory answers.
2 Feb 2021
Myanmar
International relations video of the year – by February

Daniel Flitton

Extraordinary footage of the coup in Myanmar by no stretch of the imagination.
26 Nov 2020
Myanmar
Myanmar’s military-backed opposition party stares into political abyss

David Hopkins

An electoral failure might be a repudiation of the military’s influence in politics – but not its irrelevance.