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Here is this week’s edition of the Mekong Memo for Myanmar.
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Headlines:
Junta Regains Ground, Resistance Fragments
Conscription Fears Drive Early Marriages
Solar Boom Plugs the Power Collapse
Russia and China Arm the Regime
Scammers Get Sanctions, Task Force, Demolitions
Junta Tightens Information Control
AAMIJ Under Attack
International Engagement: ASEAN, HK, CN
Trade and Business Trudge Forward
Money Demanded to Prevent Hunger
Sham Elections Still Drawing Disdain
Junta Regains Ground, Resistance Fragments
The junta has recaptured territories previously held by resistance forces in Mandalay this week. Observers expect more to come. The junta’s success seems to be related to the China-brokered truce that led to the disarmament of ethnic rebels in northern Shan State, allowing the junta to redeploy resources back to Mandalay.
Read more: The Irrawaddy (Mandalay), Myanmar Now (Territorial Struggles), Mizzima (Wetlet Offensive)
Conscription Fears Drive Early Marriages
Reports indicate the junta is collecting the names of young women as part of their plan to conscript them, causing more young girls to marry very young (with parental consent) as a strategy to escape the draft. The reports come as the military continues to try to shore up troop numbers. The junta announced mandatory conscription in February; women aged 18-27 are subject to the draft.
Read more: Frontier Myanmar
Solar Boom Plugs the Power Collapse
In 2024, the junta said that electricity generation capacity had fallen by more than a third because of the war and sanctions that hampered maintenance. The World Bank says that the nation’s output capacity has gone back to 2015 levels. Chinese companies have started to fill the gap with inexpensive solar panels, driving household installations from a few hundred in 2019 to about 300,000 today. Between January and September 2025, the value of panel imports from China was more than $100 million.
Read more: The Jerusalem Post
Russia and China Arm the Regime
The UN says that Russia and China have supplied the junta with equipment worth hundreds of millions of dollars. In return, the junta is allegedly supplying Russia with munitions to be used in the Ukraine conflict. Three Russian Navy ships arrived in Yangon on November 13 for the annual “Marumex” exercise following previous port calls in Vietnam and Thailand. Moscow is also reportedly helping the junta with plans for a nuclear reactor and research facility.
Read more: AP News (Aircraft Delivery), USNI News (Naval Exercise), The Spec (Military Analysis), The Irrawaddy(Russia Relations)
Scammers Get Sanctions, Task Force, Demolitions
The US Treasury brought new sanctions down on the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army and people connected to cyber-scam networks this week. Figures that are under the microscope include DKBA senior leaders, Thai national Chamu Sawang, and two companies that are accused of running scam operations in Karen State. US authorities have put together a “Scam Centre Strike Force” to try and disrupt the operations. The junta claimed it raided KK Park, destroying scores of buildings; satellite images suggest that much of the compound remains intact.
Read more: Mizzima (US Sanctions), Myanmar Now (Arrests), Cybernews (KK Park), Myanma Radio and Television(Official Statement), Global Nation (Philippines), The Hans India (India Arrests)
Junta Tightens Information Control
The National Defence and Security Council has set up a committee to take action against fake news, misinformation, indecent images/ videos, and political attacks on the internet. The committee, chaired by the Deputy Minister of Home Affairs, will feature a team of experts to monitor online activities and has been given the authority to block mobile numbers and temporarily freeze bank accounts tied to (alleged?) offenders. Social media users in Yangon, Mandalay, and Mawlamyine report that internet data speed have been seriously throttled lately (both wired and mobile data), with drops from a typical 20-30 Mbps now coming in under 5 Mbps. Some think the slowdown is part of an effort to keep a lid on communication ahead of the elections.
Read more: The Star (Censorship Committee), BNI Online (Internet Slowdown)
AAMIJ Under Attack
The Assistance Association for Myanmar-based Independent Journalists (AAMIJ) condemned a new lawsuit that’s been brought against it by the junta, saying it violates press freedom and the public’s right to information. The lawsuit is related to AAMIJ’s reporting on a drug distributor who was posing as an election candidate. AAMIJ says the lawsuit won’t deter it from exposing human rights violations and promised that it would continue reporting to support the restoration of democracy and the end of the dictatorship.
Read more: Mizzima
International Engagement: ASEAN, HK, CN
Secretary-General of ASEAN Dr. Kao Kim Hourn is going to lead a group to the 31st ASEAN Transport Ministers Meeting in Nay Pyi Taw on November 20. The meeting is being organized so ministers can consider the adoption of the ASEAN Transport Sectoral Plan 2026-2030. A Hong Kong-based company is going to restart two electric power projects in Yangon that were started under NLD leadership but put on hold after the coup. A media dialogue meeting yesterday in Yangon was run to allow Chinese Ambassador Ms Ma Jia to talk about China’s Global Governance Initiative. The GGI is being presented as indicative of China’s commitment to supporting the interests of the Global South.
Read more: ASEAN (Transport Ministers), Myanmar Now (Power Projects), Eleven Myanmar (China Dialogue), East Asia Forum (Balkanization Fears)
Trade and Business Trudge Forward
Ten companies went to flog traditional snacks at the ASEAN Trade Fair 2025 in Seoul this week, their first attempt to understand product demand in Korea and other ASEAN markets. Justice For Myanmar, Mekong Watch, and a handful of Japanese organizations condemned JCB Co. Ltd. (of JCB credit card fame) over its relationship with UAB Bank, which is linked to the junta and accused of facilitating payments to the military. The UN Special Rapporteur has asked financial institutions to stop doing business with UAB because of its role in airstrikes, but so far JCB appears to be undeterred.
Read more: Eleven Myanmar (Trade Fair), Xinhua (Rice Exports), Mizzima (JCB Criticism)
Money Demanded to Prevent Hunger
Two UN food agencies, the Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Food Programme, continue to say that more money is necessary to keep millions from famine. Myanmar is rated as a “very high concern” country (like other model economies, including Afghanistan, the DRC, Nigeria, Somalia, and Syria). Because of funding cuts, WFP has reduced its help to refugees and stopped some school feeding programs. The FAO says they need more money to support farmers ahead of planting seasons.
Read more: Mizzima
Sham Elections Still Drawing Disdain
The junta’s (still) planned elections for December 28 and January 11 are (still) getting condemned from every side. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk says the idea is “unfathomable” given the continued fighting and abuses. Human Rights Watch wants foreign governments to reject the polls entirely. A survey by the Platform for People Movement found that 96% of respondents said they will not vote; 98% think the whole thing is unfair. The junta has arrested about 100 people already for their opposition to the electoral process. Criticism is punishable by up to ten years in prison or death. Western democracies, international observers, and anti-regime groups have all labeled the elections a sham whose purpose is to legitimize military rule.
Read more: Mizzima (Survey Results), Mizzima (UN Statement), Human Rights Watch (HRW Position), East Asia Forum (ASEAN Concerns), The Diplomat (Propaganda Campaign), The Irrawaddy (Junta Response), The Irrawaddy (Candidates), Myanma Radio and Television (Propaganda Efforts), Eleven Myanmar (Artist Campaign), The Irrawaddy (Youth Disillusionment)
That’s it for this week… THANK YOU.
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