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Thailand considers building a wall on its border with Cambodia

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BANGKOK – Thailand is considering building a wall on part of its border with Cambodia to tackle illegal crossings, particularly by gangsters involved in online scam centers and drug smugglers, a government spokesman said on Monday. There was no immediate comment from Cambodia on the proposal but the neighbors have a long-standing and bitter dispute over part of their 817 kilometer (507 miles) land border, and another dispute over their maritime border that has stymied the exploitation of offshore gas reserves. “The prime minister directed the cabinet and relevant agencies to further study the idea of erecting a wall between Thailand and Cambodia to prevent illegal crossings and travels of call-center gangsters as well as the drugs and contraband trades,” Thai government spokesman Jirayu Huangsab told reporters. Thailand, at China’s urging, has been cracking down on call centers over its border in eastern Myanmar, which researchers say are responsible for extensive financial fraud around the world and for trafficking in people to work in the centers. Cambodia is also home to call-center operations, including in its western border town of Poipet and the southern seaside town of Sihanoukville. Jirayu mentioned the possibility of putting up a wall in the area opposite Poipet. He said Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra floated the idea of a wall amid reports that scammers from Myanmar were migrating to Poipet, and Thailand planned to discuss the idea with Cambodian authorities. “The foreign ministry and the defense ministry shall coordinate with other relevant agencies and talk with Cambodia on how to make it, if we would, and what the result will be – will it solve problems?” Chinese pressure on its Southeast Asian neighbors to tackle the scam centers has also led to Cambodian action. Over the weekend, Cambodia repatriated 119 Thai nationals following raids in Poi Pet. RELATED STORIES EXPLAINED: What are scam parks? Residents: Scam center workers smuggled into Cambodia via the Mekong River Hun Sen, Cambodia’s powerful former prime minister, complained that Cambodia was not getting the credit it deserved for its action against the scam centers. “Countries on the border with Thailand, including Cambodia, have also tried to suppress the same thing,” Hun Sen said in a post on Facebook on Saturday. “Sadly, Thailand’s success is considered by some journalists and politicians as a failure of neighboring Cambodia,” he said. “The crime story is not over, it continues to be scandalous, which requires intergovernmental cooperation to be done effectively.” Edited by Mike Firn We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

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Russia Ukraine War

North Korean tour guides know about soldiers dispatched to Ukraine war, tourist says

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A French travel blogger who was among the first group of Western tourists to visit North Korea in five years told Ij Reportika  that his tour guides knew that the country’s soldiers were fighting in Russia’s war against Ukraine — something the government has kept largely a secret from the public. Pierre-emile Biot, 30, said the Jan. 20-25 trip showcased North Korea’s culture, its close ties with Russia and its “surprisingly really good” locally-produced beer. The visitors were only allowed to stay within the Rason Special Economic Zone in the country’s far northeastern corner, near the border with China and Russia. Foreign tourism to North Korea had completely shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. It reopened last year, but only to visitors from Russia. Biot had always wanted to visit the reclusive state and thought it was only a matter of time until it would open up further. Last month, there were rumblings that the country would accept tourists from anywhere except South Korea and the United States on guided tours. Biot, who had been monitoring several travel agencies, was able to book a four-night five-day trip departing from China. ‘Quite welcoming’ To enter North Korea, Biot and his tour group of about a dozen, including other Europeans, traveled overland from Yanji in China’s Jilin province. He said the entry process getting into North Korea was easy, although authorities conducted sanitary inspections due to concerns about COVID-19. “It was quite welcoming, a lot more than I expected, and it went actually pretty smoothly,” Biot told RFA Korean from Hong Kong in a video call after the conclusion of his trip. “It think they are still a bit scare of COVID,” he said. “They didn’t check like vaccines or anything, but they did check our temperature. They had us pay for a disinfection of our bags also.” The tour was tightly controlled by two guides and two guides-in-training. None of the visitors had any freedom to roam around on their own, even outside their hotel at night. Pierre-Emile Biot stands beside a photo, Feb. 20, 2025, from the Summit between North Korean State Affairs Commission Chairman Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin, at the Russia-Korea Friendship Pavilion in Rason, North Korea.(Courtesy of Pierre-Emile Biot) Biot said that the tour guides tended to avoid questions about politics, but some did say that they knew that North Korean troops were sent to support Russia in its war with Ukraine. Since November, about 12,000 North Korean soldiers have been sent to Russia — although neither Moscow or Pyongyang have publicly confirmed this, and North Korean state media also has kept mum. “Apparently yes, they know about it, but they don’t know to what extent,” he said. “So they know about the relations with Russia getting better and better.” Good beer, ‘Great Leader’ When asked about the food the tour group was served, Biot praised the domestically produced beer. “Actually the beer was surprisingly really good,” said Biot. “Well, at every single meal we would have, we had no table water, but we had table beer like local beer too. I think all of us had at least like five beers per day.” Another part of the trip included a visit to statues of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s predecessors, his grandfather Kim Il Sung and his father Kim Jong Il. The tourists were told to buy flowers to lay in front of the statues in a show of respect. “We all had to bow, which was really important because we were the first tourist group” to visit in some time, Biot said. Throughout the trip, Biot could sense the immense respect that the North Korean people had for their leaders, he said. The guides often used the expression, “Our great leader made the decision …” and they spoke often about Kim Jong Un’s achievements. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

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Propaganda on Xinjiang and Uyghurs

Uyghurs in Thai prison ‘heartbroken’ to learn friends deported

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Follow the story on Investigative Journalism Reportika Thailand’s Court Weighs Petition to Free Detained Uyghurs Thailand Faces Backlash Over Plans to Deport 48 Uyghurs to China BANGKOK – Four ethnic Uyghurs held in a Thai prison cried when they learned that 40 of their friends had been deported to China after being held for more than a decade in a Thai immigration lock-up, a friend of the men said on Friday after visiting them. Thailand deported the 40 Uyghurs to China on Thursday, ignoring warnings from the U.S., the U.N. and human rights groups that they risked torture when they were returned to the northeastern region of Xinjiang, which they fled more than 10 years ago. “When they learned that their 40 friends had been sent to China, they were heartbroken,” a 37-year-old friend of the detained Uyghurs, who asked to be identified as just Marzeryya, told us. “They cried, something they had never done before, because they are so worried about their friends,” she said. There are five Uyghurs in Bangkok’s Klong Prem prison where they were sent after trying to escape. Marzeryya said she met four of them on Friday. It was not clear why the five were not also sent back to China on Thursday. Thailand has defended its deportation of the 40, saying it had received an “official request” from China and sent them back after assurances from the “highest level” of the Chinese government on their safety. Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, in her first public comment on the deportations that threatens to create a rift with old ally the U.S., rejected any suggestion Thailand had sent the men back in exchange for some commercial reward from China, adding they had volunteered to go. “This is about people, not goods. People are not merchandise. We definitely did not trade them,” she told reporters. “I confirm that they returned voluntarily. Otherwise, there would have been dragging. There was no dragging, they walked up normally,” she said, referring to their transfer from Bangkok’s main immigration detention center to a flight back to China. Mostly Muslim Uyghurs in China’s vast Xinjiang region have been subjected to widespread human rights abuses, including detention in massive concentration camps. China denies that but U.N. experts said on Jan. 21 the Uyghurs in Thailand would likely face torture if forced back to China and they urged Thailand not to deport them. Trucked at night to airport The 40 were taken in the dead of night in trucks with windows blocked with sheets of black plastic, escorted by police cars and under a media blackout, to Bangkok’s Don Mueang airport for the flight home. Marzeryya rejected the suggestion that they had gone back voluntarily. “Why would they want to return to China when they fled from there because they had no freedom and couldn’t practice their religion? That’s why they’d never want to go back,” she said. Marzeryya said none of the five in prison wanted to go to China. “They don’t want to return. They begged us to pray that they would be relocated to a third country,” she said. Chalida Tajaroensuk, director of the People’s Empowerment Foundation, also visited four of the imprisoned Uyghurs on Friday. “They confirmed that they don’t want to go to China, they want to go to a third country,” Chalida told BenarNews. “They said they had already escaped from China, so why would they want to go back? This contradicts what the Thai government has said.” Another three ethnic Uyghurs are still being held at the Bangkok immigration detention center. They have Kyrgyzstan passports and so were not sent to China, Chalida said. The 48 Uyghurs were part of a cohort of more than 350 Uyghur men, women and children, who left China in the hope of finding resettlement abroad and were stopped and detained in Thailand in 2014. Turkey accepted 172 of them while Thailand sent 109 of them back to China in 2015, triggering a storm of international criticism . Several of them have died of illness over the years. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative ReportsDaily ReportsInterviews Surveys Reportika

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Myanmar insurgents strike in junta-dominated central area: NUG

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Read RFA coverage of this topic in Burmese. Pro-democracy fighters and allied ethnic minority insurgents have captured a string of military positions in central Myanmar, the latest setbacks for the junta that has lost control of about half the country, a parallel government in exile said on Thursday. The allied insurgent forces captured seven military camps in the Bago region, on the old main road between the former capital, Yangon, and Myanmar’s second-biggest city, Mandalay, the National Unity Government, or NUG, said in a statement. The NUG, set up by supporters of ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, said eight junta soldiers were killed in the attacks on Tuesday and Wednesday by fighters from a pro-democracy People’s Defence Force, or PDF, and ethnic Karen fighters. One PDF member was also killed, the NUG said and it warned civilians that more attacks were coming. “The People’s Defense Forces will be stepping up military operations, so the public is advised not to visit military council units or checkpoints,” it said. The loss of territory in such a central area will be a set-back for the military which is also under major pressure in Rakhine state, in the west where ethnic Rakhine insurgents are closing in on a major hub for Chinese port and energy investments on the coast. The military, which seized power in a 2021 coup, has been pushed back in most parts of the country since late 2023 and is struggling to recruit soldiers to fill the ranks of the army. The junta has not released any information on the fighting in Bago. RFA tried to telephone junta spokesperson Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun for comment but he did not answer. In the Sagaing region, to the north of Bago, pro-democracy fighters captured a broadcasting station for the military-owned MRTV on Wednesday, the NUG said, adding that 11 junta soldiers were killed in that attack. It did not release information on its casualties in that attack. The Ministry of Defense said it responded to the Sagaing attacks with airstrikes and artillery support. Political analyst Than Soe Naing said while the attacks in junta-dominated heartland areas this dry season were significant, it would take bigger battles and more time “to dismantle the junta.” Translated by Kiana Duncan. Edited by RFA Staff. . We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

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Myanmar military bombs insurgents attacking key Chinese investment area

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Read RFA coverage of this topic in Burmese Myanmar’s military bombed insurgents attacking the cornerstone of China’s investment in the country on Wednesday, killing some civilians, residents said, as the rebels pressed on with an offensive on the west coast township of Kyaukpyu. The Arakan Army, or AA, is one of Myanmar’s most powerful insurgent groups and has nearly achieved its objective of defeating the forces of the junta that seized power in 2021 across the whole of Rakhine state. “This morning, the Arakan Army launched heavy weapons at the Dhanyawadi navy base, and there was also shooting,” resident Nay Soe Khaing told Radio Free Asia, referring to the main navy base in Kyaukpyu. “The military returned fire with a fighter jet and there were civilians killed when the plane dropped a bomb,” he said. More than 1,000 civilians had fled the area, Nay Soe Khaing and other residents said, adding that civilian casualties were hard to pin down because communications were mostly severed. RFA tried to telephone the AA spokesperson, Khaing Thu Kha, and junta spokesperson Hla Thein for information on the situation but neither responded by the time of publication. The AA, which draws its support from the state’s ethnic Rakhine Buddhist majority, has captured 14 of Rakhine state’s 17 townships, defeating the military in battle after battle since late 2023 in a stunning advance. Kyaukpyu, one of the insurgents’ last big targets in the state, is on a natural harbor in the northwestern corner of Ramree Island, about 250 miles northwest of the commercial capital Yangon. Besides its natural deep-sea harbor, the area has access to abundant oil, natural gas, and marine resources. China plans a deep-sea port in the Kyaukpyu special economic zone, or SEZ, as a hub for its Belt and Road development strategy. Oil and natural gas are already flowing from Kyaukpyu terminals to southern China’s Yunnan province, giving China an alternative route for its oil imports in case of conflict in the South China Sea. The AA launched their push on Kyaukpyu on Feb. 20 and the military has responded with attacks from the air and from naval vessels at sea. RELATED STORIES Arakan Army closing in on capital of Myanmar’s Rakhine state Myanmar adopts law for foreign firms to provide armed security EXPLAINED: What is Myanmar’s Arakan Army? Heavy battles expected Another resident said major fighting was expected. “The Arakan Army is surrounding all the military camps,” said Tun Kyi. “After they surround them, we know the battles are going to really intensify. So we can say the battle to capture Kyaukpyu has started.” China has not commented on the latest fighting but it has tried to mediate in Myanmar’s conflict. On Friday, the junta and Chinese-owned CITIC Group discussed development in the Kyaukpyu economic zone and the company’s deep sea port, according to the Ministry of Information. But Kyaukpyu resident Htein Kyi, who closely monitors development plans, said it was unrealistic to even think about the various business contracts given the security situation. “With all the trouble and instability, it’s simply impossible to implement such large-scale projects,” he said. The AA already controls nine of the 11 Chinese development projects in Rakhine state, the Institute for Strategy and Policy Myanmar said in a report in January. While Chinese projects have faced disruption and delays in various parts of Myanmar, anti-junta forces have generally not set out to destroy facilities. On the contrary, some groups have promised to protect Chinese investments and personnel. Translated by Kiana Duncan. Edited by RFA Staff. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

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UN abruptly cancels Uyghur scholar’s speech at Paris language forum

Editor08 mins

The United Nations on Monday abruptly cancelled a speech by a prominent exiled Uyghur scholar and linguist barely 24 hours before he was to address a Paris conference on language technologies, he told Radio Free Asia. In an email to Norway-based researcher Abduweli Ayup shown to RFA Uyghur, organizers provided no reason for rescinding the invitation to speak at the Language Technologies for All, or LT4ALL, conference, under the umbrella of the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, or UNESCO. But Ayup said the reason was likely because he questioned an earlier presenter about protections for the Uyghur language in China, where some 12 million Uyghurs live in the northwestern region of Xinjiang. He and other Uyghur activists say Beijing is trying to eradicate their mother tongue. They say it is but one aspect of Chinese efforts to “Sinicize” Uyghurs — a Turkic people who are distinct from Han Chinese — through a process of cultural assimilation. On Feb. 12, the LT4ALL organizing committee sent Ayup a letter inviting him to serve as a chair/rapporteur for an afternoon session scheduled for Feb. 25 entitled “Education, Inclusion, Innovation” at U.N. Headquarters in Paris, France. He accepted and was added to the program. But on Monday, Feb. 24, organizers sent him an email saying they had been “unable to secure approval” to include his presentation in the program, and that they were “informed at the last minute, and this decision is beyond our control.” “We had hoped to find a better solution, but unfortunately, we have no other option at this time,” the letter said. “As a result, we will not be able to include your presentation in the published file or program.” ‘Threatened and disgusted’ Afterwards, in posts to the social media platform X, Ayup called the decision “disgusting.” He suggested it was made in response to his questioning a day earlier of a presenter, who he described as “a Chinese language activist … [that] is a gov official [who] works for [state media outlet] Hunan TV.” RELATED STORIES Uyghur intellectual died while in custody of Chinese authorities Two Siblings of Norway-based Uyghur Activist Sentenced to Jail in China’s Xinjiang Rights Groups Blast Uyghur Activist’s Expulsion From UN Forum in New York Ayup said the presenter had discussed a language museum in China during his session, after which Ayup asked him whether it contained information about the Uyghur language and whether Uyghur language activists are safe in China. “After those two questions, I was questioned by the Chinese delegation,” he said. “I felt threatened, I felt disgusted and disappointed. I believe my presentation was cancelled because of the questions I had asked from the Chinese speaker.” Ayup did not provide evidence in support of his claims. But he noted that the panel he was listening to included a representative of iFLYTEK — a partially state-owned Chinese information technology company that the U.S. sanctioned in October 2019 for its alleged role in mass surveillance and human rights abuses in Xinjiang. Ayup elaborated further in a post to X, accusing UNESCO of having “welcomed the criminal [and] kicked human rights defenders out” of the conference. “iFLYTEK is the company [that] helped [the] Chinese regime to arrest over [1] million Uyghurs,” he wrote in the post. Family suffering Ayup is the founder of Uyghur Hjelp, a Norway-based Uyghur advocacy and aid organization which maintains a list of detained Uyghur intellectuals. In May 2021, RFA learned that Chinese authorities had sentenced Ayup’s brother and sister to several years in jail in Xinjiang, allegedly for failing to demonstrate loyalty to authorities as expected. Sources with knowledge of the situation, however, said that they were arrested because of his activities in exile. UNESCO headquarters in Paris, France, Jan. 17, 2025.(Bertrand Guay/AFP) The confirmation of the sentence came on the heels of an RFA report confirming that Ayup’s niece, Mihray Erkin, had died at the Yanbulaq internment camp while being investigated by state security police in Kashgar prefecture. Ayup’s case is not the first time the U.N. has blocked a Uyghur activist from speaking at an event it organized. In April 2017, Dolkun Isa, a founder of the exile World Uyghur Congress and member of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization, was forced from a forum at U.N. premises in New York by security guards without explanation. Isa’s removal prompted a coalition of human rights groups and organizations representing minority peoples around the world to condemn the act, calling it an expression of “domination” by an unnamed U.N. member state — an apparent reference to China. Attempts by RFA to contact UNESCO for comment on its decision to rescind Ayup’s invitation to the LT4ALL conference went unanswered by the time of publication. Translated by RFA Uyghur. Edited by Joshua Lipes and Malcolm Foster. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

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Taiwan bans academic exchanges with 3 Chinese universities amid security concerns

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TAIPEI, Taiwan – Taiwan barred the island’s universities from collaborating with three mainland Chinese institutions, citing their ties with Beijing’s overseas propaganda arm, in what Taiwan opposition lawmakers said was a blow to cross-strait exchanges that have historically served as a bridge for dialogue despite geopolitical rifts. China and Taiwan have maintained educational exchanges, despite political and military tensions, allowing students and scholars from both sides to participate in academic collaborations, research projects and university partnerships. But on Thursday, Taiwan banned its universities from working with China’s Jinan University in the city of Guangzhou, Huaqiao University in Xiamen and Quanzhou, and Beijing Chinese Language and Culture College, citing their ties with the United Front Work Department. “Chinese universities affiliated with the United Front Work Department serve a political purpose rather than a purely academic one,” said Taiwan’s Minister of Education Cheng Ying-yao. The United Front Work Departmen is a key arm of the Chinese Communist Party, or CCP, that conducts influence operations, propaganda and political engagement globally. It works to shape narratives, co-opt elites, and extend Beijing’s reach into academia, media, and diaspora communities. Critics, including Taipei, accuse it of covert interference, disinformation, and suppressing dissent, with several governments warning of its role in election meddling, intellectual property theft, and undermining democratic institutions. “To prevent political influence operations we must halt cooperation and exchanges,” Cheng added. The ban drew criticism from Taiwan’s main opposition Kuomintang, or KMT, which criticized it as “politically motivated” and “detrimental” to cross-strait exchanges. “Students from over 80 countries attend these universities. It is shortsighted for the DPP to isolate Taiwan academically,” KMT legislative Fu Kun-chi said, referring to the island’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party. KMT chairman Eric Chu Li-luan also said the policy would do more damage to Taiwan’s higher education sector. “Academic cooperation should be based on international accreditation, not political considerations,” Chu said. “The DPP is using this as part of its broader political strategy for 2025, creating division instead of fostering engagement.” A DPP legislator, Wu Szu-yao, however, defended the ban, comparing it to the global shutdown of Confucius Institutes due to similar concerns over Chinese influence. Confucius Institutes are Chinese-funded language and cultural centers, which have drawn suspicion around the world of Chinese propaganda and influence. The U.S., Europe and Australia have closed many of the institutes, citing threats to academic freedom and security. “Taiwan has never restricted normal academic and cultural exchanges, as long as they are free from official influence. But these schools, being under the United Front Work Department control, inherently serve political purposes and follow political directives,” Wu said. RELATED STORIES Taiwanese army officer’s failed defection to China ends in 13-year sentence Taiwan to scale up annual military drill as China tensions mount Did Taiwan ‘severely punish’ students for supporting unification with China? Taiwanese students have long pursued degrees in Chinese universities, drawn by lower tuition fees, scholarship opportunities, and career prospects in the mainland. Chinese students also study in Taiwan, though in smaller numbers due to political restrictions. Universities from both sides have established joint research programs and academic agreements, facilitating faculty collaboration and student mobility. But exchanges have not been immune to political influence. China has at times limited the number of its students permitted to study in Taiwan, citing political concerns, while Taipei has imposed tighter regulations on Chinese scholars and researchers due to security considerations. Cross-strait relations under Taiwan’s pro-independence leadership have further strained the programs, leading to a decline in Chinese enrollment in Taiwan. The COVID-19 pandemic also disrupted exchanges, though some academic collaboration has resumed. China sees Taiwan as a breakaway province that must eventually reunite, even by force if necessary. Beijing views the island’s leader, Lai Ching-te, a pro-independence advocate, as a separatist and has increased military drills, economic pressure and diplomatic isolation to counter his leadership. Edited by Taejun Kang. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

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Myanmar adopts law for foreign firms to provide armed security

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Myanmar’s military government has adopted a law allowing foreign companies to provide armed security services, which analysts suspect will lead to former military personnel from China protecting its extensive economic interests in its southern neighbor. The law raises the prospect of Chinese private military corporations guarding oil and gas pipelines from Myanmar’s Indian Ocean coast to Yunnan province, and ensuring uninterrupted supplies in the event of war in the South China Sea blocking regular shipping routes. The Private Security Service Law, published in state-run media on Tuesday, states that foreign companies seeking a license to set up a security company must be registered under the Myanmar Companies Law. The National Defence and Security Council must approve a company “holding arms and ammunition due to work demand in providing private security services,” states the law, signed by the leader of the junta that seized power in 2021, Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing. The legislation stipulates that companies must ensure that staff are “not a member of any armed forces of a foreign country.” Myanmar’s military-drafted 2008 constitution rules out foreign forces operating in the country. The law also requires that “at least 75% of the hired private security servants must be Myanmar citizens,” and companies providing private security services have to abide by existing laws on weapons. China has extensive economic interests in Myanmar, many of them linked to a long-planned China-Myanmar Economic Corridor between China’s Yunnan and Myanmar’s coast. The corridor is part of Beijing’s multi-billion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative of energy and trade-facilitating infrastructure projects. They include a special economic zone and proposed deep-water port, with oil and gas facilities, in Kyaukpyu in Rakhine state, 800-kilometer (500-mile) oil and gas pipelines that extend to Kunming in southwest China, copper jade and rare earth mines and hydro-electric plants. While the embattled military still holds Kyaukpyu, many of the other projects are in areas that have come under the control of anti-junta forces battling to end military rule since the generals overthrew a government led by Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021. While the civil war has delayed Chinese projects, insurgent forces, some of which maintain contacts with China, have not launched major attacks on pipelines and other facilities, and have even promised to protect them. RELATED STORIES Arakan Army closing in on capital of Myanmar’s Rakhine state Myanmar junta chief seeks China’s help on border stability Trump extends ‘national emergency’ declaration for Myanmar ‘Selling out’ Analysts said the new law sets out the legal framework for a Chinese proposal to set up a China-Myanmar Joint Venture Security Company, as reported in the military’s Myanmar Gazette on Nov. 8. Lawyer Gyi Myint said the law reflected the junta’s determination to get China’s economic projects implemented by relying on Chinese security help. “We have reached a situation where the military has allowed things that are not allowed internationally. This is not in line with the 2008 constitution,” Gyi Myint told Radio Free Asia from an undisclosed location. Political analyst Than Soe Naing said the law would allow former members of China’s People’s Liberation Army to operate legally in Myanmar. “The junta council is selling out to China for nothing even though it is constantly talking about sovereignty,” he told RFA. RFA tried to contact the junta council’s spokesman, Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun, to inquire about the criticism of the law but he did not answer the telephone. The military council has not said when the proposed China-Myanmar Joint Venture Security Company would be set up. The Burmese-language Khit Thit Media reported late last year that a deal to establish a Chinese private military corporation in Kyaukpyu was signed in November between a Special Economic Zone management sub-committee and officials from the Chinese CITIC Group Company. Edited by RFA Staff. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

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India boosts security protection for Dalai Lama

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Read RFA coverage of this story in Tibetan. India has boosted security for the Dalai Lama, adding about 30 police commandos to protect the Tibetan spiritual leader amid reports of potential security threats, according to a person familiar with the matter and Indian media reports. The move raises the security coverage for the 89-year-old Dalai Lama to the third-highest level, called Z-category, under the Central Reserve Police Force, or CRPF, the source told Radio Free Asia on the condition of anonymity because he wan’t authorized to speak to the media. Video footage of the Dalai Lama in southern India showed armed CRPF commandos around a vehicle carrying the Tibetan spiritual leader. Citing official sources, the Press Trust of India said the central government enhanced the Dalai Lama’s security because of “potential security threats.” The Indo-Asian News Service said the move was prompted by a recent Intelligence Bureau threat analysis report. RFA could not independently confirm these reports, and the security department of the Central Tibetan Administration — the Tibetan government-in-exile in Dharamsala, northern India — did not respond to requests for comment. The Indian Ministry of Home Affairs, the CRPF and the Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs also didn’t offer any comments. The Dalai Lama normally lives in Dharamsala, but has been visiting a Tibetan community in southern India since Jan. 5. Chinese opposition The move comes amid growing concerns over the Dalai Lama’s safety due to China’s long-term opposition to his activities. Beijing is seeking to appoint the successor to the Dalai Lama, who is expected to either name his successor or provide some indication regarding his succession when he turns 90 in July. “This has led to growing desperation from the Chinese side,” senior Indian journalist and national security affairs specialist, Aditya Raj Kaul, told RFA. The highest level of security in India, given to the Indian prime minister and his immediate family, is called the Special Protection Group. Below that are the Z+ category, provided to top ministers in the central and state governments, and Z category, provided to prominent leaders and individuals based on their threat perception. Since the Dalai Lama’s flight from Tibet into exile in India in 1959, the Indian government has assumed responsibility for his security protection, maintaining a 24-hour security patrol around his residence in Dharamsala to ensure his safety. Whenever the Dalai Lama travels to different parts of India, his security arrangements are overseen by the central government, with state governments coordinating protection during his visits. The Dalai Lama (center) is guarded by the members of the Central Reserve Police Force in Hunsur, Karmataka state, India, Feb. 18, 2025.(Pema Ngodup/RFA) The Indian Ministry of Home Affairs directed the CRPF’s VIP security wing to take charge of the security for the Dalai Lama and ensure Z-category protection with around 30 CRPF commandos across the country, the Press Trust of India and other Indian media reported. The CRPF’s VIP security wing is provides security to individuals as assigned by the ministry, including politicians, state government ministers, governors, spiritual leaders, business tycoons and other prominent individuals. “Now there will be a massive security cover with commandos traveling with him in a multiple convoy and the possibility of additional state security cover,” senior Indian journalist and national security affairs specialist, Kaul, citing sources, told RFA. In December 2022, security at Bodh Gaya in northeast India’s Bihar state had been beefed up after an alleged threat to the Dalai Lama from a Chinese woman. However, the state police later clarified the incident was no threat to the Dalai Lama and that the Chinese woman had been detained and deported because she overstayed her visa. Translated by Tenzin Dickyi and Tashi Wangchuk for RFA Tibetan. Edited by Kalden Lodoe, Tenzin Pema, Roseanne Gerin and Malcolm Foster. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

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