The Irrawaddy

Myanmar has become increasingly salient in Washington’s economic and national security calculus. However, the country is far from simple. Its military and political power is dispersed across multiple centers, demanding deft handling and nuanced thinking. In the absence of a single like-minded counterpart, Washington may be tempted to look for a shortcut and treat the military regime as the easiest channel through which to advance U.S. interests.

More than 37 million people—over two-thirds of Myanmar’s population of more than 54 million—are experiencing or at risk of “multidimensional poverty,” according to the latest report from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) released on Thursday.

Myanmar’s military regime has moved to ban online sales of gold and jewelry, citing the risk of flawed products and market destabilization. On Wednesday, the Commerce Ministry announced it has suspended issuance of licenses for selling gold, raw gold, jewelry, art objects, and household items via online platforms.

China now Myanmar’s top investor, trade partner A border checkpoint between China and Myanmar in Ruili, west Yunnan Province / AFP China is now officially the top foreign investor and trading partner in Myanmar, consolidating its economic grip as others retreat, according to a report by Japan External Trade Organization. In fiscal year 2025 ending this March, Myanmar approved US$472.6 million in foreign direct investment, down another one-third or 31.5 percent from a year earlier.

PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia—Myanmar will accept more returning migrants currently held in Malaysia “as soon as possible,” the war-torn nation’s leader said Thursday despite human rights concerns over the opaque repatriation scheme. Min Aung Hlaing made the pledge on a visit to his counterpart in Malaysia, as he works to bring his country back into the international fold after staging a 2021 coup.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia—Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim once urged his Muslim-majority nation to show solidarity with the persecuted Rohingya who fled Myanmar en masse, but this week rolled out the red carpet for the man accused of orchestrating their genocide. Min Aung Hlaing touched down on Wednesday, invited for a two-day visit to discuss thousands of Myanmar migrants being sent back under a repatriation scheme touted by Anwar.

Several Malaysian companies, including some with direct financial ties to the state, are actively supplying or seeking to supply aircraft parts and maintenance services to the Myanmar military, which has been widely condemned for bombing its own civilian population, an investigation by Justice For Myanmar (JFM) revealed Wednesday.

A Beijing-sanctioned docuseries on Myanmar’s scam industry has hailed the extradition of fugitive tycoon She Zhijiang as the crowning achievement of China’s crackdown. Yet the telecom fraud empire he built in the border town of Myawaddy continues to thrive despite international pressure.

The Myanmar military has lost most of the territory it once controlled in Arakan (Rakhine) State. But for civilians living there, the junta’s retreat on the ground has not brought safety. Instead, the war increasingly comes from the sky. Markets, hospitals, schools, villages, displacement camps and detention facilities have been hit by airstrikes.

A new docuseries by China’s state broadcaster details how a billion-dollar scam industry thrived in northern Myanmar under the protection of four powerful Kokang families aligned with the military regime. Titled “The Demise of Telecom Fraud in Northern Myanmar” and produced by the Ministry of Public Security and China Media Group, the three-part documentary began airing on October 5.