Foreign Policy

Myanmar’s Approach to India

April 5, 2018 by Thiha

Myanmar can be described as the quintessential small state whose foreign policy is impinged on by the overtures of its larger neighbors — China and India. That is in part due to its geographical location impacting Myanmar’s policy formulation, but also a reflection of the fact that, historically, Myanmar’s military rule has led to global […]

Filed Under: Latest News Tagged With: 'Act East' policy, active engagement, AEP, Ahoms, and Chins, China, colonial, director of Myanmar’s presidential office, fellow ASEAN member states, Foreign Policy, General Ne Win, Germany, IIIT, India, Indian Army, Indian Institute of Information Technology, Indian projects, internal domestic challenges, Japan, Kaladan Multi-modal Project, LEP, Look East policy, Lushais, Meghalaya, memorandum of understanding, Min Aung Hlaing, MOU, Myanmar, Myanmar Institute of Technology, Myanmar’s military rule, New Delhi, postcolonial politics, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s, Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, rakhine, Saw Htay, singapore, TATA Consultancy Service, Tatmadaw’s Commander-in-Chief Senior General, TCS, Thailand, United Nations

‘Tremendous opportunity for growth’ identified in the BIMSTEC region

September 14, 2017 by Thiha

Participants at a Yangon roundtable discussion today point to largely untapped opportunities for trade, communication and cultural exchange in a region of 2.5 billion souls. Parami Roundtable and Mizzima Media Group organised a roundtable on Myanmar and BIMSTEC to commemorate the celebration of 20 years of BIMSTEC. BIMSTEC, known as Bay of Bengal Initiative for […]

Filed Under: Latest News Tagged With: AIC, ASEAN-India Centre, Asia, Bangladesh, Bay of Bengal, Bay of Bengal countries, Bhutan, BIMSTEC region, chairman, communication, Cultural Exchange, Director, Dr Myo Thant, Dr. Shinya Imaizumi, Dr. V S Seshadri, Editor, Foreign Policy, former Asian development Bank Director, Former Indian Ambassador to Myanmar, Free Trade Agreement, FTA, GRIPS, health services, IDE-JETRO, India, Indian Ocean, Indonesia, Institute of Developing Economies, Jadavpur University, Japan, Kathmandu, Kolkata, Malaysia, media, Member, MISIS, Mizzima Media Group, Mr Ken Tun, Mr. KaviChongkittavorn, Myanmar, Myanmar Institute of Strategic and International Studies, Myanmar Times, National Graduate Institute for Public Studies, New Delhi, Parami Energy Group, Parami Roundtable, Prof. AjitavaRaychaudhuri, Prof. Lau Sim Yee, Prof. Prabir De, Prof. Toshihiro Kudo, RCEP, Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, Reitaku University, scholars, singapore, South and Southeast Asia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, the Himalayas, Tokyo, Trade, U L ZauGoone

Through reclusive Wa, China’s reach extends into Suu Kyi’s Myanmar

January 11, 2017 by Thiha

China is extending its sway over an autonomous enclave run by Myanmar’s most powerful ethnic armed group, sources in the region told Reuters, bolstering Beijing’s role in the peace process that is the signature policy of Aung San Suu Kyi. The “foreign policy” of the self-proclaimed Wa State is closely monitored by Beijing, senior officials […]

Filed Under: Latest News Tagged With: a Bangkok-based analyst for security consulting firm IHS-Jane's, a Wa government official, Anthony Davis, aung san suu kyi, Beijing, central Myanmar government, Chen Chun, China, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Chinese currency, Chinese Defence Ministry, Chinese-financed mega-dam project, Chu Chin Hung, Communist Party of Burma, CPB, district office chief in the Wa border town of Nan Tit, ethnic armies, Exports, Foreign Policy, foreigner, head of the Wa Foreign Affairs Office, IHS-Jane's Defence Weekly, japanese, Laos, Lo Yaku, Mandarin and Chinese businesses, metals, minister's secretary, Myanmar, NGO, Nyi Rang, PANGSAN, rifles and cannons, Rubber, signature policy, Special Region 2, the Wa agriculture minister, United States, United Wa State Army, UWSA, Wa, Washington and Brussels, Western, Western competitors, Western governments, Zhao Guo An, Zhejiang

America’s estrangement from Thailand

September 28, 2015 by Thiha

The American public increasingly thinks of Thailand as unstable, a perception fueled by official criticism of Thailand’s politics. Although this criticism is partially driven by developments in Thailand, it is also a result of uncoordinated and reactionary foreign policy. A recently released movie, No Escape, features an American family desperately trying to flee from an […]

Filed Under: Latest News Tagged With: American public, Bangkok, Barack Obama, Daniel Russel, Foreign Policy, Japan, South China Sea, Southeast Asia, Thailand, US President, WASHINGTON

India’s Myanmar Policy

February 27, 2015 by thiha

Indian foreign policy has changed markedly since the 1990s, driven by realism and its own economic and strategic interests. One important change has been the increased attention New Delhi has been paying to Southeast Asia over the past two decades. The government of P. V. Narasimha Rao, which initiated India’s “Look East Policy,” also recognized […]

Filed Under: Latest News Tagged With: Act East, agriculturalists, Australia, Behiang, Calcutta, Chennai, Chennai-Krishnapatnam-Yangon-Colombo, Chettiar community, Chin State, China, Colombo, Commerce Minister, Economic Policy, Foreign Policy, India, India-Myanmar Joint Investment Forum, India-Myanmar Joint Trade Committee, Indian business delegation, Japan, local persons of Indian origin, Look East policy, Manipur, Manmohan Singh, Moreh-Tamu, Myanmar, Narasimha Rao, Narendra Modi, New Delhi, Nirmala Sitharaman, PIOs, Shipping Corporation of India, Southeast Asia, Tamil Nadu, U Win Myint, Union Minister of Commerce

Myanmar brushes off limited US sanctions renewal

May 22, 2014 by thiha

YANGON: Myanmar on Friday shrugged off US President Barack Obama’s decision to renew some sanctions against the country in order to spur continued reform, in a move that highlighted fears over continued rights abuses. Obama said sanctions restricting certain investments should be renewed because the former military-run nation still poses “an unusual and extraordinary threat […]

Filed Under: Latest News Tagged With: Foreign Policy, human rights abuse, international humanitarian groups, Junta, military-run, Myanmar, Myanmar government spokesman, national security, obama, reform, Rohingya Muslims, sanctions, us, Ye Htut

U Win Tin: Insights from Myanmar’s Tiger in Chief

May 5, 2014 by thiha

When I learned of death of Myanmar writer and activist U Win Tin, I decided to wear a blue shirt for the day. The gesture, however small, struck me as a fitting tribute to Myanmar’s longest-held political prisoner, a man who vowed to continue wearing his blue prison shirt until all prisoners of conscience in […]