Myanmar 20250506
Mekong Memo Myanmar Weekly: Business, politics, finance, trade & legal news.
Southeast Asian business news delivered to your inbox every weekday with the Mekong Memo.
The Memo is published each weekday for the countries of your choice. Paid subscriptions receive full editions while free subscribers usually only get top headlines and the first few stories. We can’t do this without your support, so please consider a paid subscription.
The Mekong Memo is proudly presented by:
Horton International is your premier partner for executive search in Southeast Asia. Whether you're a small startup or a global corporation, our reliable and effective recruiting solutions are tailored to meet your unique needs. With extensive experience and offices across the region, we excel at overcoming recruitment challenges and securing top talent for your organization.
Click here to learn how Horton can make your life easier.
Here is this week’s edition of the Mekong Memo for Myanmar.
If you appreciate the work that goes into preparing The Memo (and the time it saves you!), please consider a paid subscription to support our efforts. Thank you.
Headlines:
Quake Aid Cut Off as Junta Blocks Relief
ASEAN Pushes Ceasefires, Airstrikes Continue
Heritage Sites Flattened, Cement Shortage Hits
AI Lies Spread as Communications Cut
China Uses Quake Aid to Build Influence, Control
Rebel Groups Defy China, Redraw Maps
Draft Law Results in Youth Flight
Workers Want 4x Pay Hike, Inflation Hits 30%
Health System Crashes as Donors Pull Back
US Sanctions Scam Networks Tied to Junta
EU Extends Sanctions Through 2026
200+ Journalists Arrested, 7 Killed Since Coup
Fighting Expands in Karen, Rakhine States
Myanmar Inmates Forced to Make Clothes in China
Gold Mining Poisoning Cross-Border Rivers
New Peace Push Ties Talks to Federal Solution
Quake Aid Cut Off as Junta Blocks Relief
The recent earthquake has left tens of thousands either dead or displaced, with more than 17 million people affected and infrastructure in ruins. Recovery is barely grinding along as the junta controls who gets help, continues to bomb quake-hit areas, and has been blocking most relief funding. UN agencies say two million survivors need immediate help, but appeals have not yielded much so far.
Read more: Myanmar Now (junta neglect), Asian News Network (regional impact), UN OCHA (UN response), Intellinews (losses unknown), Buddhistdoor (aid update)
ASEAN Pushes Ceasefires, Airstrikes Continue
International observers say they want longer ceasefires in Myanmar as military attacks continue alongside as post-quake pleas for peace. Malaysia is using its position as the ASEAN Chair to demand a real truce, and the Three Brotherhood Alliance has offered its own ceasefire to indicate its desire to support relief. Most attacks have come after official truce announcements, with more than 200 civilians killed in airstrikes and raids since March 28. Both the military council and National Unity Government seem open to more pauses in fighting, but attacks in quake zones continue.
Read more: Irrawaddy (continued bombings), Bernama (Malaysia call), Kuala Lumpur Ministry of Foreign Affairs (ceasefire push), Mizzima (Brotherhood Alliance extension), Arab News (UN perspective), Persecution.org (truce expiration), Myanmar Now (fresh displacement)
Heritage Sites Flattened, Cement Shortage Hits
In a permanent loss of culture, the earthquake has wiped out thousands of historic monasteries and pagodas. Sites like Mandalay's Royal Palace and Inwa's Nagayon Pagoda have been badly damaged, with three-quarters of buildings reportedly destroyed in some areas. The quake has also crippled cement production, cutting output by more than 40% and sending prices through the roof. Three of the biggest factories shut down, crunching the supply chain and making rebuilding almost impossible. The economic hit is brutal, with inflation and bureaucratic bottlenecks blocking recovery.
Read more: Mizzima (heritage loss), Mizzima (cement crisis), Fulcrum (long-term economics), SCMP (infrastructure risk)
AI Lies Spread as Communications Cut
The earthquake has put Myanmar's emergency response to the test as social media filled with AI-generated fake news just as phone networks in quake zones crashed. False reports confused locals and slowed the distribution of aid. Experts want new systems to catch digital fakes, better coordination between authorities, and rules for AI use during disasters.
Read more: RSIS Singapore
China Uses Quake Aid to Build Influence, Control
China's disaster response has been mixing humanitarian aid with a power play. Aid shipments, Red Cross teams, and funding were part of a push to build goodwill, show regional leadership, and brush up China's image. At the same time, China brokered a Lashio deal splitting control between the military and MNDAA, while pressuring groups like the TNLA to stop fighting.
Read more: CSEP (disaster diplomacy), Myanmar Now (Lashio deal), Irrawaddy (TNLA pressure)
Rebel Groups Defy China, Redraw Maps
Ethnic armed groups are now challenging both the junta and China, with the Ta'ang National Liberation Army openly refusing Beijing's demand to give up newly captured territory. As part of the Three Brotherhood Alliance, TNLA, Arakan Army, and MNDAA control large areas, running separate ceasefires and reshaping territorial control.
Read more: Myanmar Now (TNLA defiance), Irrawaddy (lawlessness), Mizzima (Brotherhood ceasefire)
Draft Law Results in Youth Flight
Forced military service has pushed nearly 4 million young people out of Myanmar, mostly to Thailand, since 2023. The draft law puts men 18-35 and women 18-27 in jeopardy of being sent to the front lines, wrecking education and career plans, causing massive brain drain, and worsening class and ethnic divisions. The youth exodus has left the junta short on workers, causing them to issue calls for people to stay and to put strict controls on migration and money transfers in place. Labor groups have gone on blast over the military's worker suppression as jobs disappear and prices continue to shoot up.
Read more: Eurasia Review
Workers Want 4x Pay Hike, Inflation Hits 30%
Factory workers got vocal this Labor Day, demanding a daily minimum wage of 20,000 kyats - a big increase from the frozen 4,800 kyat rate set in 2018, as inflation nears 30% and exploitation continues to get worse. Forced overtime, filthy conditions, and lack of worker protections are pushing people away as job options dry up. The Federation of General Workers Myanmar wants basic labor rights and international backing, connecting these rights directly to ending military rule.
Read more: Mizzima (May Day demands), Irrawaddy (Labor Day), UCANews (wage oppression)
Health System Crashes as Donors Pull Back
Myanmar's health system is collapsing as international aid dries up and fighting continues, with TB, HIV and other diseases spreading fast. Funding cuts from US and European donors have forced local health groups to cut services, hitting 3 million displaced people in crowded camps hardest. Vaccine programs have stalled, staff are constantly under threat of losing their jobs, and large regions like Mon and Kayin territory are threatened with malnutrition and untreated illness.
Read more: Mizzima
US Sanctions Scam Networks Tied to Junta
The US has sanctioned several members of the Karen National Army for running cyber scam compounds along the Thai-Myanmar border that make billions through fraud and forced labor. The militia, connected to both the junta and crime syndicates, forces victims - often trafficked foreigners - into scam operations. Washington's sanctions target militia leaders and money networks to cut off both scam income and criminal-military cooperation. Similar human trafficking and torture claims have emerged against the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army at another online fraud compound that allegedly holds thousands of international victims captive.
Read more: Eurasia Review (US sanctions), Reuters (Treasury action), Bloomberg (scam compounds), Mizzima (DKBA trafficking)
EU Extends Sanctions Through 2026
The EU has renewed and expanded sanctions on Myanmar's military government, now covering 106 individuals and 22 entities through April next year. The rules freeze assets, ban travel, stop arms sales, and target industries like oil and gas. Groups including the Burma Human Rights Network and Arakan Rohingya National Alliance say they want even more enforcement and wider sanctions, including adding the Arakan Army for its actions in Rakhine state.
Read more: Mizzima (sanctions), Eurasia Review (Rohingya Alliance response), Mizzima (SAC-M justice demands), Mizzima (scam sites), Vietnam News (Vietnam repatriation)
200+ Journalists Arrested, 7 Killed Since Coup
More than 200 journalists have been arrested and dozens remain behind bars since the coup, with seven killed and others reporting torture in custody. News outlets like Mizzima continue to publish from exile or in hiding, using satellites and underground reporters. Press freedom groups are still asking for the release of journalists jailed under terror laws and have slammed the junta's information blackouts, including blocked international broadcasts and censorship.
Read more: Irrawaddy (press freedom), Mizzima (Than Htike Myint case), UCANews (press association), Global Voices (Mizzima exile), Mizzima (borderland media), Narinjara News (journalist deaths), Irrawaddy (war reporting), Mizzima (World Press Freedom Day)
Fighting Expands in Karen, Rakhine States
The military began new offensives in Karen State, trying to recapture lost territory from resistance groups that were able to secure checkpoints along the Asia Highway - the junta's main trade route to Thailand. Airstrikes, artillery, and troop buildups are killing civilians and throwing a wrench into trade. In Rakhine state, the Arakan Army controls most townships and continues to face accusations of abusing Rohingya. The area remains central to armed conflict and diplomatic wrangling, with Bangladesh's Jamaat-e-Islami party proposing, and Myanmar rejecting, an Arakan state for Rohingya refugees.
Read more: Irrawaddy (Karen front), Greydynamics (Arakan Army profile), BDNews24 (Rohingya proposal)
Myanmar Inmates Forced to Make Clothes in China
Myanmar nationals in Chinese prisons say that they are being exploited through forced labor, making clothes in terrible conditions for almost no pay. Prisoners get virtually no support from Myanmar authorities, have very little opportunity to communicate with others, and say that they also have to deal with health dangers and discrimination.
Read more: Irrawaddy
Gold Mining Poisoning Cross-Border Rivers
Unregulated gold mining in Shan state, mostly run by Chinese companies with the backing of armed groups, is dumping cyanide and other chemicals into rivers that feed the Mekong. This environmental threat crosses borders, hitting downstream communities and forcing people to finally listen up to longstanding warnings about water contamination across borders. Armed groups like the UWSA profit from these operations; environmental oversight is practically nonexistent.
Read more: Dialogue Earth
New Peace Push Ties Talks to Federal Solution
ASEAN's latest peace plan includes sending a military delegation for "soldier-to-soldier" talks with the junta, setting up humanitarian corridors, and working toward a federal solution for the nation. New diplomatic efforts, led by Malaysia in coordination with neighboring countries, is hoped to set the stage for talks between the military and the pro-democracy National Unity Government. The NUG isn’t standing by, however, waiting for a resolution - it continues to grow its influence in the US by naming a prominent, if controversial, American businessman as its Washington representative - a move that may irritate China.
Read more: Irrawaddy (peace plan), SCMP (Malaysia-Asean mediation), Irrawaddy (NUG ambassador)
That’s it for this week… THANK YOU.
Your voice matters to us. Feel we're missing something? Have additional sources to suggest? Don't hold back— reply and tell us what you think.
If you value the Mekong Memo, please consider buying (or gifting!) a paid subscription, sharing it on social media or forwarding this email to someone who might enjoy it. You can also “like” this newsletter by clicking the ❤️ below (or sometimes above, depending on the platform), which helps us get visibility on Substack.