News from Southeast Asia directly to your inbox every weekday.
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.
The Memo is published weekdays - Cambodia (every Monday), Myanmar (Tuesday), Laos (Wednesday), Vietnam (Thursday) and Thailand (Friday). The Thailand edition is free in its entirety; the others usually abbreviated for non-paid subscribers.
Please go to https://www.mekongmemo.com/account to select country editions you would like to receive without affecting your overall subscription status.
US Opens Direct Talks With the Junta
The US is talking directly with Min Aung Hlaing's government, reversing the isolation it has kept in place since the 2021 coup. Michael Vance, the State Department's intelligence chief, met Min Aung Hlaing in Naypyitaw in mid-September and arranged for the release of American businessman Adam Castillo, a former head of AmCham Myanmar. Castillo, detained at Yangon airport in June, was freed and deported as the talks ended. In return, the junta reportedly asked for "official engagement at the right level." Washington claims to be mainly interested in scam centers targeting Americans, though the two sides also discussed heavy rare earths in territory largely held by ethnic armed groups. Min Aung Hlaing remains under US sanctions.
Read more: Reuters (direct talks), The Diplomat (diplomatic shift), Tamil Guardian (US criticism)
US Delists Junta Fuel Supplier's Daughter
The US Treasury has removed Theint Win Htet from its sanctions list after she sued for a second time. Justice For Myanmar called the decision deplorable. Her mother was delisted last year, while her father, Thein Win Zaw, remains sanctioned. Treasury says he supplied fuel to the navy and that his family owns at least 20 companies.
Read more: Bangkok Post (delisting decision), The Irrawaddy (sanctions record), The Diplomat (lawsuit details)
Anwar Hosts Min Aung Hlaing, Backs ASEAN Return
Anwar Ibrahim is promising to help bring Myanmar fully back into ASEAN after welcoming Min Aung Hlaing to Putrajaya with a guard of honor. He boasted that bilateral trade has more than doubled in a year, while Min Aung Hlaing urged Malaysian business leaders to "invest with confidence." Malaysia is the fifth ASEAN state to host the general, after Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam, and Indonesia and Brunei reportedly plan to follow. Even after rolling out the red carpet, Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil insisted the meeting did not amount to recognizing the junta.
Read more: Reuters (ASEAN return), Reuters (Rakhine airstrikes), AP (Putrajaya welcome), The Diplomat (regional diplomacy), Religion News Service (rights concerns)
Report Ties Malaysian State Firms to Junta Aircraft
Three Malaysian firms, two with state ties, have supplied or tried to supply the military since 2023, Justice For Myanmar alleges. The watchdog released its findings as Anwar Ibrahim was hosting Min Aung Hlaing. It says FJ Global Aeroparts secured financing from PUNB, which is owned by a foundation chaired by Anwar, and made requests for quotes of warplane and drone parts. Junta engineers reportedly approached state-backed Asia AeroTechnic about repairing a military Airbus A319. Skyways Technics Asia, the Malaysian arm of a Danish company, allegedly shipped parts to brokers registered with the army's procurement directorate, probably for the Air Force.
Read more: The Irrawaddy
Malaysia Sends 1,476 Home on Navy Ships
Navy ships have carried 1,476 nationals home from Malaysia, the first group under a deal to return 5,000 people chosen by Naypyitaw. Kuala Lumpur says the returns are voluntary, but everyone sent back had been in immigration detention, so it might have been a Hobson’s choice. The UN and rights groups say that returnees could be further persecuted and forced into conscription. Malaysia reported having more than 10,000 Myanmar nationals in immigration detention at the end of August.
Read more: The Irrawaddy (naval return), The Irrawaddy (ASEAN response), Myanmar Now (detention risks)
China Overtakes Singapore as Top Investor
China is now the top foreign investor in Myanmar, with $201.1 million approved in the fiscal year that ended in March. That was more than two-fifths of the total and about twice China's previous figure. Singapore, the longtime frontrunner, moved into second with $155 million. Total approvals were down by nearly a third to $472.6 million; much of the Chinese and Hong Kong money went into garment and shoe factories.
Read more: The Irrawaddy
Junta Bars Migrant Workers From Returning Abroad
The Labor Department has stopped more than 300 migrant workers on home leave from returning to jobs abroad. Most were unable to prove they had paid a 2 percent income tax or sent a quarter of their earnings home through the official channels. Regime banks reportedly pay 63 kyats per baht, less than half the market rate on forex. Labor Minister Maung Myint helpfully told employment agencies that workers abroad should consider the remittances "a donation."
Read more: The Irrawaddy
Myawaddy Scam Compounds Rebuild as CCTV Hails Kokang Crackdown
China tried three times to talk Kokang's four powerful families out of the scam business before police started mass arrests in 2023, according to a new CCTV documentary. Ming family boss Ming Xuechang reportedly said that, "If we stop, we have nothing to eat." The crackdown did little more than push the industry south. Syndicates driven from northern Shan State are now rebuilding in Myawaddy, where the Karen National Army and the DKBA host compounds, though the documentary is careful to name neither militia. Nearly 60 scam sites have reportedly appeared in Karen and Shan states since She Zhijiang's arrest in 2022.
Read more: Bangkok Post (Kokang families), The Irrawaddy (Myawaddy compounds), Global Times (CCTV documentary)
UN: Two-Thirds of Country Poor or Near Poverty
A new UNDP survey finds that more than 37 million people, two-thirds of the population, are poor or a single setback away from poverty. About 18 million face poverty by several measures and another 19.5 million are vulnerable. Health and living conditions account for more than four-fifths of the deprivation measured in the telephone survey of 7,463 households. Rakhine is one of the poorest areas, with more than two-thirds of residents “poor.” The report estimates that at least 1 million young people may have left the country since 2021.
Read more: UNDP (survey findings), ABC News (poverty toll), UN News (youth exodus)
Commerce Ministry Stops Online Gold License
The Commerce Ministry has stopped issuing and renewing licenses for online gold and jewelry sellers. Anyone who decides to trade without one might be subject to between six months and three years in prison in addition to a fine of up to 500,000 kyats (~$240). The ministry claims it is protecting buyers and market stability after pawnshops and gold shops rejected some jewelry bought in livestream flash sales. Online gemstone sales are still legal with a Myanma Gems Enterprise license, as long as no gold is involved.
Read more: The Irrawaddy
Embassy Brokers Sold Passports to Blacklisted Activists
Brokers working with the Myanmar embassy in Bangkok reportedly sold passports to blacklisted activists for 150,000 to 200,000 baht (~$4400-$6000) during the time that Zaw Zaw Soe was ambassador. After taking the post, he barred migrants from converting Certificates of Identity into passports and stopped doing renewals of expired documents. The brokers then took over both services as cash collected this way could reportedly bypass a rule requiring expired passports to be sent to Naypyitaw.
Read more: The Irrawaddy
Regime Wants Interpol Notice On Exile Media
The junta says it has filed charges and is asking for Interpol red notices against people behind The Irrawaddy, Mizzima, DVB, Myanmar Now and Khit Thit, as well as other opposition figures. House Speaker Khin Yi said that the cases were criminal because Interpol doesn’t handle political disputes. But Deputy Home Affairs Minister Min Thu conceded that foreign governments "mainly arrest and extradite" suspects who are accused of drug offenses and other felonies, not members of the media.
Read more: The Irrawaddy
That's all for this week, thanks for reading. Your voice matters to us. Feel we're missing something? Have additional sources to suggest? Don't hold back- hit 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. Please also “like” this newsletter by clicking the ❤️ below (or sometimes above, depending on the platform), which helps us get visibility on the Substack network.