• Situation critical in Myanmar with mounting resistance to military junta

    Politics
    Situation critical in Myanmar with mounting resistance to military junta




    color:#757575"> Digital
    desk: The situation behind the Bamboo Curtain in Myanmar has deteriorated, with
    anti-military junta forces increasing their operations across the country and
    anti-China emotions running high due to China's exploitation of mineral
    reserves and support for the military regime.



     



    Myanmar
    confirmed 647 conflict-related deaths last month, including 34 civilians, 581
    security personnel, three militants, and 32 in fighting between pro-government
    and opposition forces. In April, 379 people died as a result of the war,
    including 17 civilians, 338 security personnel, 11 militants, and 13 resistance
    fighters. Overall, there was a 1.5-fold rise in fatalities in May compared to
    April, with security force fatalities climbing by 71.89 percent.



     



    The
    654 fatalities in May are the worst in a month since the military junta led by
    Senior General Min Aung Hliang rejected the democratic mandate in favour of
    National League for Democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi in a military coup in
    February 2021. Suu Kyi is currently under house arrest after being convicted on
    multiple offences by a military court.



     



    With
    Hong Kong-listed private security contractors recruited by Chinese company
    Wanbao Mining in Salingyi township in Sagaing Region, anti-military junta
    resistance is growing in Myanmar, as is anti-China sentiment. This company has
    formed a joint venture with Myanmar's Economic Holdings Ltd to collect copper
    from the region's Letpadaung mines.



     



    On
    May 1, local militia members opposed to the military junta ambushed a military
    ship transporting reinforcements and rations for a Chinese company on the
    Chindwin River. Resistance groups and Burmese expats have asked Beijing not to
    supply the military junta with weaponry and ammunition, and skirmishes between
    local militia and Myanmar security forces have occurred in the Sagaing copper
    mines.



     



    At the Tokyo conference last month,
    Quad leaders also discussed Myanmar's ongoing political situation. The leaders
    of the four member countries – India, the United States, Australia, and Japan –
    voiced worry over the crisis and called for the ASEAN Five Point Consensus to
    be implemented as soon as possible.