The military’s demoralized Western Command is feeling the heat as the Arakan Army closes in on towns in northern Rakhine, with its sights set on the state capital Sittwe.
After losing control of so much territory, however, it remains to be seen how his regime would be able to hold such a poll.
With even regime supporters calling for Min Aung Hlaing’s resignation, and the SAC’s six-month legal extension set to expire, several scenarios have been raised.
In Thailand, Burmese-American author Kenneth Wong finds a community of exiles whose homeland lies just across a river yet seems a million miles away.
Former cheerleaders of the junta are changing their tunes and broadcasting calls for Min Aung Hlaing to quit after the humiliating surrenders made by Myanmar’s military to resistance forces.
Ethnic areas will never return to external control; there is still time to prevent balkanization, but a political agreement involving all players is needed.
Independence Day celebrations last week were overshadowed by the biggest defeat in the Myanmar military’s modern history.
When it comes time to put the shattered country back together, finding shared principles, rather than arguing territorial specifics, might be the place to start.
Economic, political and regional security challenges await the Srettha administration as Thailand emerges from a decade of military-led government.
The new realities on the ground demand a bold new imagination that looks beyond the conventional nation-state.
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