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Category: ASEAN

US Defense Secretary ‘deeply concerned’ about China’s unwillingness to engage

Editor012 mins

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has urged China’s military leaders to engage after his call to meet with the Chinese counterpart was rebuffed, saying open lines of communication are “essential.”  In his key address to the Shangri-La Dialogue security forum in Singapore on Saturday, Austin said that he is “deeply concerned that the PRC has been unwilling to engage more seriously on better mechanisms for crisis management between our two militaries.” The defense secretary referred to China by its official name the People’s Republic of China. “For responsible defense leaders, the right time to talk is anytime, the right time to talk is everytime and the right time to talk is now,” he said, adding that “dialogue is not a reward. It is a necessity.” “And the more that we talk, the more that we can avoid the misunderstandings and miscalculations that could lead to crisis or conflict.” Secretary Austin and Chinese Minister of National Defense Li Shangfu, who has been under U.S. sanctions since 2018, shared a brief handshake before an official dinner on Friday but did not speak to each other nor is a bilateral meeting between them anticipated. “A cordial handshake over dinner is no substitute for a substantive engagement,” Austin said. China’s Defense Minister Li Shangfu, attends the ministerial roundtable session during the 20th Shangri-La Dialogue, June 3, 2023. Credit: AP Photo/Vincent Thian The U.S. defense chief slammed China which, he said, “continues to conduct an alarming number of risky intercepts of U.S. and allied aircraft flying lawfully in international airspace.” Just last week, the U.S. military accused a Chinese J-16 fighter jet of performing an “unnecessarily aggressive” maneuver during the intercept of a U.S. Air Force RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft. “We do not seek conflict or confrontation, but we will not flinch in the face of bullying or coercion,” Austin said. The obvious rift between the two powers has “become the new reality,” said Huong Le Thu, a non-resident fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Regional countries have to accept it whether “they like it or not,” she told RFA. “But they can contribute to managing the tensions by lowering the heat through facilitating and encouraging dialogues between the U.S. and China,” the analyst added. Shared vision  Carlito Galvez Jr., Senior Undersecretary and Officer-in-Charge at the Philippine Defense Department, said Manila believes that “the international law is the greatest equalizer among states.” The Philippines won a legal case against China’s claims in the South China Sea at a U.N. tribunal in 2016 but Beijing has so far refused to accept the ruling. The two countries have recently been embroiled in a new spat over their sovereignty in some of the islands in the Spratly archipelago. “As the old adage goes, good fences make good neighbors,” Galvez said.  “It is only when neighbors have clear boundaries and respect for set boundaries that relations remain genuinely amicable,” the acting defense secretary said. Indonesia’s Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto said it is “imperative for us to overcome our geopolitical rivalries, our territorial disputes through dialogues, negotiations and win-win solutions.” “Compromise is the only way that communities and societies can prosper,” he said, warning that the rivalry between superpowers “has turned into a Cold War” and in any war, “the danger of a catastrophe is always near.” U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin is attending the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue for the third time this year. Credit: Reuters/Caroline Chia U.S. Defense Secretary Austin, however, insisted that his country “does not seek a new Cold War.” “Competition must never spill over into conflict. And the region should never be split into hostile blocs,” he said. Austin said Washington is not creating nor willing to create a new NATO in the Indo-Pacific as China has repeatedly alleged. Yet the U.S. wishes to build “nimble coalitions to advance our shared vision” in order to make the Indo-Pacific “more stable and more resilient,” Austin said. Washington lists Australia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Philippines, and Thailand as its “staunch allies” in the region and sees India, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Singapore as “valued partners.” Speaking about self-ruled Taiwan, Austin said his country “remains deeply committed to preserving the status quo there, consistent with our longstanding one-China policy, and with fulfilling our well-established obligations under the Taiwan Relations Act.” “Conflict is neither imminent nor inevitable. Deterrence is strong today, and it’s our job to keep it that way,” the secretary stated. Beijing considers Taiwan a Chinese province and resolutely protests against any involvement by “external forces” in the island’s politics.  China Defense Minister Li Shangfu, left, listens to Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese deliver a keynote address during the opening dinner for the 20th Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, June 2, 2023. Credit: AP Photo/Vincent Thian Lt. Gen. Jing Jianfeng, deputy chief of the Central Military Commission’s Joint Staff Department, hit back at Lloyd Austin’s speech about Taiwan, saying it was “completely wrong.” “There’s only one China in the world, and Taiwan is a sacred and inalienable part of Chinese territory,” Jing said, adding that “it is the common aspiration and sacred responsibility of all Chinese people, including our Taiwan compatriots, to complete the reunification of the motherland.” China’s counterattack  A researcher at People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Academy of Military Sciences, Senior Col. Zhao Xiaozhuo, said that it is the U.S. who has been trying to change the status quo in the Taiwan Strait. “The Taiwan Strait was pretty stable in the last ten years or so but the U.S. wants to destroy this stability,” Zhao told reporters at the Shangri-La Dialogue.  “That way they can sell weapons to Taiwan and make a lot of money,” he said. Chinese participants at the security forum in Singapore have taken a proactive approach to counter criticism from the U.S. and its allies. Senior Col. Zhao said that Washington needs to change what he calls “erroneous actions” in the way it interacts with others. “When it comes to dialogue you have to take care of…

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Guards beat prison inmates to death in Myanmar’s Bago region, sources say

Editor03 mins

Guards have severely beaten and interrogated 24 inmates of a prison in Myanmar’s eastern Bago region, according to sources close to the prison. Three of the inmates of Kyaik Sa Kaw Prison in Daik-U township were beaten to death according to one source, while others – in critical condition – were put in a dark room without food for four days. The interrogations were held over several days starting May 25. The source, who wished to remain anonymous for safety reasons, said the prisoners were accused of communicating with members of the Bago People’s Defense Force who are sheltering in territory controlled by the powerful Karen National Union ethnic organization. “They were beaten and interrogated for having connections with the armed group,” said the source. “They couldn’t say no. How could they have any contact from prison?” The source said the prison authorities have not yet informed the families of the three prisoners believed to have died. Others close to the prison identified one of the dead as Thant Zin Win. He was in charge of training and recruiting people for the Bago township People’s Defense Force. He was arrested along with other members of the anti-junta militia on December 14, 2022. Thant Zin Win was charged with breaking several sections of the Counter-Terrorism Law and sentenced to 80 years in prison, according to a Bago People’s Defense Force statement on Saturday. Sources close to the prison speculated that the interrogations took place in retaliation for a prison break at Taungoo in Bago region on May 18. Inmates grabbed guns from prison guards and nine managed to escape into the jungle where they were met by members of a local People’s Defense Force. RFA called Prison Department spokesman Naing Win on Wednesday to find out details of the alleged beatings and deaths but no one answered. Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Mike Firn.

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Intense clashes in Myanmar’s Chin, Shan states leaves 19 dead

Editor08 mins

Intense fighting between the military and anti-junta forces in Myanmar’s Chin and Shan states since the weekend left 19 dead, including four civilians, RFA Burmese has learned.  The clashes, which killed an 11-year-old boy and left a dozen civilians injured, are the latest to erupt in two areas known as hotbeds of resistance to military rule since the Feb. 1, 2021, coup d’etat. Salai James, the chairman of the anti-junta Zofe Chin Defense Force, told RFA that a battle broke out between his paramilitaries and military troops in the Chin townships of Hakha and Thantlang on May 28. Over the course of two days, he said, junta troops fired heavy artillery on CDF positions with support from four fighter jets and a military helicopter. “The junta’s heavy artillery hit the edge of Hakah town, which is close to their artillery base,” Salai James said. “Eleven anti-junta fighters have been killed by their airstrikes so far, but we haven’t been able to retrieve all of their bodies yet as we are still fighting.” The bodies of only seven of the 11 dead CDF fighters had been retrieved as of Tuesday, he added. A Hakha CDF official, who declined to be named for security reasons, said that the fighting is “continuing to intensify” as the junta forces seek to regain territory between Hakha and Thantlang, which is currently controlled by a joint force of Chin defense groups. “They haven’t been able to operate safely in Hakha and Thantlang – that’s why they regularly attack those areas,” he said. “When their ground troops can’t beat the resistance forces, they use their air power to attack us.” Undated photos of anti-junta medics who died in junta attacks, from left; Angela, John Bosco, Caroline Khine Lin and Mya Htwe. Credit: Karenni Revolutionary Union Fighting between the two sides continued on Tuesday, residents of the two townships said. Since the coup, the junta has launched nearly 80 aerial attacks on Chin state, killing 64 people, including members of anti-junta local defense forces, according to a May 22 statement issued by the Institute of Chin Affairs. Shan fighting Fierce fighting also was reported in eastern Shan state, when a joint force of ethnic Karenni resistance groups battled junta troops in the townships of Pekon and Pinlaung, according to anti-junta groups. On May 27, junta troops “randomly fired heavy artillery” into Pinlaung’s Moe Bye village in an attack against members of the anti-junta Moe Bye People’s Defense Forces, killing an 11-year-old boy and injuring four civilians, Banyar, the director of the Karenni Human Rights Organization said Tuesday. “This kind of attack isn’t a one-off occurrence – the junta plans and attacks this way in many different places, knowingly firing at the civilian population,” he said. “This is not only a war crime but also a crime against humanity.” The Moe Bye PDF confirmed details of the battle, which was fought intermittently from May 27-29, in a statement issued on Monday. Additionally, four medics from an anti-junta unit based in neighboring Kayah state’s Demoso township were killed while treating the injured during the fighting in Shan state, the Karenni Revolutionary Union rebel group said in a statement on Sunday. The dead included Caroline Khine Lin, Angela, Mya Htwe and John Bosco – all between the ages of 17 and 23, the KRU said. Myanmar junta chief Min Aung Hlaing oversees a military display at a parade to mark the country’s Independence Day in Naypyidaw on January 4, 2023. Min Aung Hlaing declared at the Armed Forces Day ceremony in March, that the military would completely destroy NUG, PDF and the organizations supporting them. Credit: AFP And at around 4:00 a.m. on Sunday, junta forces launched a series of airstrikes on an area of Moe Bye where civilians had taken shelter from the fighting, injuring four people and damaging three homes, according to the Moe Bye People’s Defense Force. In a May 1 statement, the rebel Progressive Karenni People’s Force said that there have been at least 663 clashes in southern Shan state and neighboring Kayah state between the coup and April 30, 2023. The junta has yet to issue a statement on the fighting in Chin and Shan states and attempts by RFA to contact junta Deputy Information Minister Major Gen. Zaw Min Tun went unanswered Tuesday. The clashes follow a vow by junta chief Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing on Armed Forces Day in March to eradicate the shadow National Unity Government, the anti-junta People’s Defense Force paramilitary group, and the organizations that support them. Translated by Myo Min Aung. Edited by Joshua Lipes and Malcolm Foster.

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Why the Philippines is deploying navigation buoys in the South China Sea

Editor09 mins

Earlier this month, the Philippine Coast Guard deployed five 30-foot navigational buoys near islands and reefs within its territory in the South China Sea, saying the move highlighted the nation’s “unwavering resolve to protect its maritime borders.” Within two weeks, China had deployed three navigational buoys of its own, positioning two near Manila’s beacons at Irving Reef and Whitsun Reef, to ensure “safety of navigation.”  The tit-for-tat deployments signaled a new front in a long-running dispute over sovereignty of the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, one of the world’s most important sea trade routes that is considered a flashpoint for conflict in the Asia-Pacific. But the buoys also underscored an increasingly proactive approach by the Philippines in enforcing its maritime rights, analysts say. “Such a move illustrates Manila’s awareness of the changing nature of regional geopolitics,” said Don McLain Gill, a Manila-based geopolitical analyst and lecturer at De La Salle University.  “The Philippines also recognizes that no other external entity can effectively endorse its legitimate interests other than itself.”   The Philippines deployed five 30-foot navigational buoys near islands and reefs within its territory between May 10 and 12. Credit: Philippine Coast Guard/Reuters China claims nearly all of the South China Sea and has for years militarized artificial islands, while deploying coast guard boats and a state-backed armed fishing fleet around disputed areas. In 2016, an international tribunal ruled in favor of Manila and against Beijing’s expansive historical claims to the region, but China has since refused to acknowledge the ruling.  The Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, Vietnam and Taiwan all have claims in the sea — and Manila’s buoy deployment prompted an official protest from Hanoi.  Since taking office in June last year, Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has been more vocal in condemning China’s aggressive actions in the region and has restored traditional military ties with the United States. Raymond Powell, the South China Sea lead at Stanford University’s Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation, said the recent deployment of buoys showed the Philippines’ newfound determination to “proactively assert its maritime interests.” ‘A war of buoys’ While Marcos Jr. was praised by some for the deployment, others have criticized the move as needlessly provocative.  Filipino security analyst Rommel Banlaoi said the unilateral action heightened security tensions and could have “unintended negative consequences.” “What the Philippines did was problematic because the international community recognizes the South China Sea as disputed waters,” said Banlaoi, who chairs the advisory board of the China Studies Center at New Era University’s School of International Relations. “This might trigger a war of buoys,” he said in an interview last week with local radio station DZBB. The Philippines National Security Adviser Eduardo Año said the deployment of buoys was meant to enforce the 2016 arbitral ruling in the Hague.  “This is not a provocation. What we call provocations are those who conduct dangerous maneuvering, laser pointing, blocking our vessels, harassing our fishermen,” he told reporters in an interview, referring to recent Chinese actions in the South China Sea. Jay Batongbacal, director of the University of the Philippines Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea, said the installation of the buoys demonstrated the Philippines was exercising jurisdiction over its waters for purposes of improving navigational safety.  “Such buoys are harmless devices that warn all other ships of potential hazards and should in no way be regarded as provocative or threatening,” Batongbacal told BenarNews. He asked why critics were silent about China building artificial islands, installing anti-air and anti-ship missiles, and deploying missile boats and large coast guard vessels that actively interfere with Philippine boats in its maritime territory. Angering Vietnam Not only did the buoy deployment set off another round of recriminations between Beijing and Manila, it also triggered a rebuke from Vietnam, which claims parts of the Spratly Islands as its own. When asked about Manila’s action, Vietnamese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Pham Thu Hang said Hanoi “strongly opposes all acts violating Vietnam’s sovereign rights.” Analysts say, however, the spat is unlikely to escalate, as Vietnam has far bigger issues to deal with in terms of China’s incursions into its territorial waters. A Chinese survey ship, escorted by China Coast Guard and maritime militia, was found lingering within Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone for several days from May 7, often within fifty nautical miles of its southern coast.  Workers prepare a navigational buoy for deployment in the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone in the South China Sea on May 15, 2023. Credit: Philippine Coast Guard/Reuters Powell said the incursions were “much more provocative than the Philippines’ buoys.” “I think Vietnam’s pro-forma protest over the latter will be noted and largely forgotten, both in Hanoi and in Manila,” Powell told BenarNews.  Vietnam’s reaction to the Philippines’ move was natural “due to its potential political ramifications at the domestic level,” said Gill. But he added that Southeast Asian nations had a track record of settling maritime disputes in an amicable manner.  In 2014, for example, the Philippines and Indonesia settled a maritime border dispute after two decades of negotiations by using international law, particularly the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. “Unlike China, Southeast Asian countries have illustrated a rather positive track record of being able to compromise and solve bilateral tensions between and among each other given the countries’ collective desire to maintain stability in the region,” Gill said. BenarNews is an RFA-affiliated news service.

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Cyclone Mocha: Before and After

Editor04 mins

Myanmar’s Sittwe University is seen Nov. 12, 2022 [left] and May 18, 2023. Credit: Google Earth [left]; Planet Labs Cyclone Mocha hit Myanmar’s coast on May 14 with sustained winds reaching over 220 kilometers per hour (137 mph). Hundreds of Rohingya Muslims were killed when the storm tore through western Myanmar’s Rakhine state, according to RFA reporting. Villagers gather materials to rebuild in Kyay Taw Paik Seik five days after Cyclone Mocha. (Photo: RFA) A view of the few remaining structures in Kyay Taw Paik Seik in the aftermath of the storm. (Photo: RFA) Some 130,000 Rohingya have lived for more than a decade in internally displaced persons camps in and around Sittwe, the capital of Rakhine. The camps are poorly funded by the junta and run by volunteer groups. The village of Dar Paing Ywar Thit in Myanmar is seen April 14, 2023 [left] and May 21, 2023. Credit: Maxar Technologies [left]; Planet Labs The Dar Paing camp for internally displaced Rohingya in Sittwe was among the hardest hit by Cyclone Mocha in Rakhine state. (Photo: Citizen Journalist) Residents of Dar Paing navigate roads flooded by Cyclone Mocha. (Photo: Citizen Journalist) Nearly 1 million Rohingya were forced to leave their homes in Rakhine state following a military crackdown against the Muslim-minority in 2017. About 740,000 fled to Bangladesh and live in Cox’s Bazar, also hit hard by Cyclone Mocha. The village of Bay Dar in Myanmar is seen Nov. 12, 2022 [left] and May 21, 2023. Cyclone Mocha cut a new inlet, seen on the right side of the photo, allowing the sea to pour in and leaving the village on a peninsula. Credit: Maxar Technologies [left]; Planet Labs Another camp for internally displaced Rohingya in Sittwe known as Bay Dar Rohingya Village also sustained heavy damage from Mocha. (Photo: RFA) Wooden dwellings in Bay Dar were reduced to piles of debris by the storm. (Photo: RFA) Residents of Bay Dar salvage what they can of their belongings three days after the cyclone made landfall. (Photo: RFA) While the death toll was significantly lower in other parts of Sittwe, damage from the storm was substantial. In villages such as Kyay Taw Paik Seik, aid workers say residents are in urgent need of shelters and drinking water, as sea water has mixed in with most of the reservoirs from the flooding that followed the storm. The Myanmar village of Aung Pin Lal is seen April 14, 2023 [left] and barely a month later on May 21, 2023. Credit: Maxar Technologies [left]; Planet Labs

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Malaysia’s Mahathir says Russia may take nuclear option

Editor06 mins

The world is facing the grim prospect of a nuclear war as the Ukrainian conflict drags on, a former Asian leader has warned. “I don’t think you can make Russia surrender,” said former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad about the ongoing Ukraine war on Friday – the second day of the Future of Asia conference hosted by the Nikkei news group in Tokyo. “They will fight to the end, and in desperation they may resort to the use of nuclear weapons,” said the former statesman who will be 98 in July, adding that not only Ukraine and Russia, but “the whole world will suffer.” Mahathir served as Malaysia’s prime minister from 1981 to 2003 and again from 2018 to 2020.  “Nuclear war is the worst kind of war because of the extent of destruction it causes,” he said, reflecting on the end of World War II when two atomic bombs were dropped on Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. A summit of Group of Seven (G7) of the world’s most developed nations was held in Hiroshima last week. “It seems that G7 countries went to Hiroshima trying to persuade the Global South that they should support the West’s efforts in the Ukraine war,” Mahathir said.  The Global South is a term generally used for less developed countries in Latin America, Africa, Asia and Oceania, as opposed to more prosperous nations in the Global North including North America, Europe, and Australia, as well as several rich Asian countries like Japan, South Korea and Singapore.  “We should not get involved in wars,” the former leader said before criticizing what he called “the mindset of some countries.” “Global North thinks that war is a solution to conflicts between nations,” Mahathir said. “Russia and the West were partners in the war against Germany,” he said, “but immediately after the war the West decided that their new enemy is Russia so they set up NATO.” ‘World government’ The rivalry between the world’s two superpowers China and the U.S. once again was highlighted at the Future of Asia event, in its 28th year this year. Sri Lanka’s President Ranil Wickremesinghe said on Thursday that his country “welcomes the G7’s announcement that they are prepared to build a stable and constructive relationship with China.” Singapore Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong went further adding: “Any attempt either to contain China’s rise or to limit America’s presence in the region will have few takers. Nobody wants to see a new cold war.” Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad (right) at a Q&A session at the Future of Asia conference, May 26, 2023. Credit: RFA/Screenshot from livestream For his part, Mahathir Mohamad urged Asian countries that they “should not take sides to support either the U.S. or China.” “We should support the world that includes the U.S., China and the rest.” “We should free ourselves from the influences by the West both in the economic and political fields,” said the former leader, known for his anti-Western rhetoric. In his opinion, the United Nations as an organization needs to be restructured in order to lead global efforts in dealing with common world problems such as climate change, pandemics and consequences of wars. “We should think of a common approach to deal with world problems, through a kind of world government,” he said. Future of Asia, held by Japan’s Nikkei annually since 1995, is “an international gathering where political, economic, and academic leaders from the Asia-Pacific region offer their opinions frankly and freely on regional issues and the role of Asia in the world.” This year’s theme is ‘Leveraging Asia’s power to confront global challenges.’ Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida delivered a speech Thursday saying Tokyo is “focused on co-creating the future” with its Asian partners. Edited by Mike Firn.

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A new big brother for Laos?

Editor01 mins

The Friendship Shield 2023 war games brought 200 Chinese troops and 700 Lao soldiers together for three weeks near the Lao capital Vientiane for joint military exercises. The drills between the two Communist states gave troops from impoverished, land-locked Laos firsthand experience using modern Chinese weapons, opening the way for the Southeast Asian country to replace its Soviet-era and Russian military supplies. Neighboring Vietnam, Laos’ biggest traditional ally, is believed to be watching the Sino-Lao relationship warily, while the U.S. is also concerned about China’s expanding military influence.

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Court in Myanmar’s Mandalay imprisons 3 monks for funding terrorism

Editor02 mins

A court in Myanmar’s central Mandalay region has handed down 22-year sentences to three Buddhist monks accused of supporting anti-junta People’s Defense forces, a local resident told RFA Thursday. Tuesday’s sentences came after the monks from Taw Kyaung Gyi monastery in Patheingyi township were found guilty under Section 50 (j) of the Counter-Terrorism Law, which prohibits the financing of terrorist groups. The local, who didn’t want to be named for safety reasons, said the monks became involved because anti-junta militia often seek refuge in religious buildings, thinking they will be safer. “A monk is not a People’s Defense Force [member]. PDF youths set up camp in that monastery and sent drones over Mandalay city,” he said. “The monks probably encouraged them because locals are involved. Monks host the PDF and collect donations for them.” RFA has not been able to find out the names of the monks but the local said one was the chair of Mandalay’s Madaya township Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee, established by the government in 1980 to oversee the Buddhist clergy. Another local, who also requested anonymity, told RFA the three monks are being held in Mandalay’s Obo Prison following the hearing in Mandalay city’s Aungmyaythazan District Court  Some 18,364 people are currently in detention in Myanmar, 6,076 of them serving prison sentences, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners. Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Mike Firn.

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Myanmar’s junta increasingly relying on airstrikes, research group says

Editor07 mins

Myanmar’s junta is increasingly relying on airstrikes in its war against groups opposed to its rule, according to tallies compiled by Nyan Lynn Thit Analytica, an independent local research group, because its troops have faced fierce resistance on the ground. The military carried out 1,427 airstrikes across Myanmar since taking power by force in a coup d’etat on Feb. 1, 2021, the group said in a report released Monday.  During the first four months of 2023, the junta launched 454 airstrikes – a rate that puts it on track for double the 2022’s total of 820, the group said. Most of the attacks have taken place in Kayin state and the Sagaing region – areas where junta forces have struggled to maintain control. Even former military officers have criticized the army’s reliance on airplanes. “The military uses its air power depending on the need for ground operations,” said Thien Tun Oo, executive director of the Thayninga Institute for Strategic Studies, which is made up of former military officers.  “It’s funny to say that the military has to use its air power, as its ground troops cannot handle the battles,” he said. “That’s our opinion.” The number of people killed by junta airstrikes is also increasing every year, said Moe Htet Nay, a research and political adviser for Nyan Lynn Thit Analytica. In 2021, 74 civilians were killed; in 2022, 168 civilians were killed; and during the first three months of 2023, 192 have been killed, he said. Civilians hide in a cave after airstrikes and mortar attacks on their village in Doo Tha Htoo district in Myanmar’s eastern Kayin state, May 3, 2022. Credit: Free Burma Rangers/AFP Civilians targeted ‘indiscriminately’ The airstrikes are intended to bring chaos to anti-junta forces and to separate them from villages and civilian populations, Moe Htet Nay said.  The most deadly airstrike came last month when 188 people were killed in Kanbalu township of Sagaing region on April 11.  Political analyst Than Soe Naing believes the junta will continue to target airstrikes at civilian populations, in addition to the People’s Defense Forces, made up of ordinary citizens who have taken up arms against the military. “The military first used the air forces to relocate its ground troops,” he said. “But later, the air forces started attacking every possible target of the PDFs. Now, the junta launches airstrikes at any populated place indiscriminately.” Radio Free Asia reached out to a junta spokesman to ask about the airstrikes, but there was no response. Nyan Lynn Thit Analytica collected data on the airstrikes from reports in more than 40 news outlets, including RFA, Voice of America and Myanmar Now, and through the social media sites of more than 1300 PDFs.  Burned remains of buildings cover the ground in a village in Doo Tha Htoo district in Myanmar’s eastern Kayin state, May 3, 2022. Credit: Free Burma Rangers/AFP Some villagers afraid to dig bomb shelters  Kyaw Zaw, spokesman for the president’s office of the shadow National Unity Government, told RFA in early May that they are constructing a system that can notify the public in advance of incoming junta air strikes. The project also includes a proposal to build bomb shelter bunkers. But many villagers wouldn’t dare dig bomb shelter trenches because junta forces believe that families with bomb shelters are aligned with PDFs, according to a resident of Kanbalu township who refused to be named for security reasons. “How can we protect ourselves against the danger of their airstrikes during the battles? Their ground troops destroy our bomb shelters as they raid our places,” the resident said.  Debris and soot cover the floor of a middle school in Let Yet Kone village in Tabayin township in the Sagaing region of Myanmar the day after an airstrike hit the school, Sept. 17, 2022. Credit: Associated Press Chinese and Russian entities have sent more than US$660 million in weaponry and other arms-related equipment to the junta since the coup, according to the United Nations’ special rapporteur for Myanmar, Tom Andrews. That includes Russian-made Mi-35 military helicopters, MiG-29 and Yak-130 planes and Chinese-made K-8 jet fighters that have been used by the military to target and destroy civilian homes and buildings, Andrews said in a report last week. Pro-democracy activists, including NUG acting President Duwa Lashi La, have called on the international community to stop the junta from purchasing military equipment and technology, and to cut off its sources of jet fuel. Translated by Myo Min Aung. Edited by Matt Reed and Malcolm Foster.

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Myanmar troops raid Chin state hospital, arresting doctor and nurses

Editor04 mins

Junta troops have raided a hospital in Myanmar’s northwestern Chin state, arresting a doctor and four nurses, according to a local resident. The local identified the five women as Dr. Ci Ci Lia and nurses Henny Zivalem, KhupSian Lun, San Hniang Sung and Van Niang Mawi, all ethnic Chin. “They were arrested at midnight [Sunday] and informed they would be questioned,” said the resident who declined to be named for security reasons. “Many soldiers came to the hospital at the time of the arrest.” Agape Hospital is a privately-run medical facility, set up by the Presbyterian Church in Myanmar, which said it wanted to provide basic healthcare to a state with insufficient facilities. The doctor and four nurses all joined Myanmar’s civil disobedience movement soon after the military seized power in a February 2021 coup, the local told RFA although they said the junta had not given a reason for the arrest. The five are being held at the local police station in Hakha township and have been allowed to see their families. Other residents told RFA troops arrested at least 15 people in Hakha township on Sunday evening when they checked lists of visitors staying overnight. Sunday’s raid follows a similar one on April 2 when troops arrested two doctors and a staff member at Agape Hospital. Locals say the three were freed in exchange for the release of junta officials who had been detained by the Chin People’s Defense Force in Hakha, suggesting the latest arrests may also be part of a planned prisoner exchange. RFA has not been able to confirm this independently. The Chin People’s Defense Force confirmed Sunday’s arrest of the five medical workers but did not comment on any possible prisoner swap. RFA called Chin state’s junta spokesman and social affairs minister Thant Zin Wednesday, seeking comment on the latest arrests, but the calls went unanswered. Last week the junta revoked the business licenses of three private hospitals in Myanmar’s central Mandalay region. Palace, City and Kant Kaw hospitals had already been told to stop accepting patients because they were using staff belonging to the civil disobedience movement. According to Myanmar’s parallel National Unity Government, the junta has attacked hospitals and clinics 188 times since the coup. They damaged 59 ambulances and seized 49 more, the NUG’s Ministry of Health said, adding that 71 medical workers were killed and 836 arrested in the past 27 months. Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Mike Firn.

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Investigative Journalism Reportika © March 2022 by Ij-Reportika is licensed under CC BY 4.0