Ahead of Myanmar regime leader Min Aung Hlaing’s visit to China next week, the junta sent former military intelligence officials from a regime-aligned think tank to Beijing to meet with organizations that promote Chinese foreign policy and work for policy research projects commissioned by major Chinese government departments.
Two former high ranking military intelligence officials—ex-Brigadier General Thein Swe and ex-Colonel Hla Min, who served under the previous Myanmar regime—met with two Chinese think tanks in Beijing.
The Charhar Institute in Beijing said on Tuesday that Chairman Thein Swe and Special Advisor Hla Min from Myanmar policy think tank the Paragon Institute met with the president of the Chinese institute.
It said the two sides discussed activities to jointly commemorate the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Myanmar. Thein Swe also provided an update on the situation in Myanmar, particularly regarding the country’s internal security situation, the post said.
On the same day, Thein Swe and Hla Min visited the Taihe Institute (TI) in China’s capital, the think tank’s Facebook page said, to engage in a dialogue on issues of mutual concern with the institute’s senior fellow, fellow, editor-in-chief and deputy secretary-general. The TI has been commissioned by major Chinese government departments to undertake policy research projects.
Few people in Myanmar have heard of the Paragon Institute, which doesn’t have a website or Facebook page.
What neither Chinese think tank mentioned is that both Thein Swe and Hla Min are former officials of Myanmar’s notorious Military Intelligence (MI) unit, since disbanded, which arrested, tortured and killed hundreds of democracy activists under the previous military regime. The MI was involved in securing ceasefires with several groups including the Wa and other forces in the north, and was instrumental in dealing with them, employing a divide-and-rule tactic among ethnic groups. When it came to foreign relations with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, China and the West, MI officers took the lead including Major General Kyaw Win, Kyaw Thein and Thein Swe. Both Kyaw Win (who was deputy head of DDSI) and Kyaw Thein are now in their 70s and laying low.
Notably, the former spooks’ visit to Beijing came nearly a week before junta leader Min Aung Hlaing’s scheduled visit to Kunming to attend the 8th Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) Summit of Leaders.
A Chinese source familiar with China-Myanmar relations told The Irrawaddy that Thein Swe played a role in the trip, and has a role in the bilateral relationship. He added that the largely unknown Paragon Institute is funded by the Office of the Chief of Military Security Affairs (OCMSA), a successor to the MI, which was run by General Khin Nyunt. The head of OCMSA is Lieutenant General Ye Win Oo, one of Min Aung Hlaing’s confidantes.
Furthermore, the sources said, the ex-MI officers’ trip to Beijing was greenlighted by the junta’s governing body, the State Administration Council (SAC), its Foreign Minister Than Swe and SAC Chairman’s Office(2) Minister Ko Ko Hlaing.
This all confirms The Irrawaddy’s 2022 report that Thein Swe was among other ex-MI officials who were reportedly assisting the junta following the 2021 coup. Observers believe the presence of former MI officials in Beijing, with the junta’s blessing, has something to do with Min Aung Hlaing’s upcoming trip. In the leadup to the visit by Min Aung Hlaing, former MI officers have played a role in shaping China-Myanmar relations, providing analysis on ethnic organizations in northern Shan State—where they now face increasing Chinese pressure. These MI officers were familiar with these issues including ceasefire deals in northern Shan State in the 1990s.
MI old hands
Thein Swe served as the head of international relations for the MI, then known as the Directorate of Defence Services Intelligence (DDSI). He later served as military attaché in Bangkok under the previous military regime, which was named the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) and later the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC).
In that role, he was instrumental in forging stronger relations with the Thai establishment, military and media as he built up an effective spy network in Thailand to monitor and harass the thousands of democracy activists who fled Myanmar after the 1988 Uprising.
In 2000, then military spy chief Khin Nyunt assigned him to publish the Myanmar Times newspaper as part of the regime’s propaganda campaign in which it sought to counter media with media. The publication was funded by the Sasakawa Foundation, Australian mining companies and the MI. Thein Swe ran the Myanmar Times with his son Sonny Swe, who later went on to launch Frontier Myanmar magazine. Thein Swe was one of the silent partners in the company he set up.
As a result of a lingering power struggle between the intelligence faction and the army faction, Khin Nyunt and his wife were finally placed under house arrest and charged with insubordination and corruption in 2004 during a purge led by then junta supremo Than Shwe. Several high-ranking MI officials were detained and served long prison sentences.
Brigadier General Thein Swe and his son were among those arrested. Thein Swe was released in 2014.
As a son of a diplomat, Hla Min spent most of his childhood overseas and finished high school in Europe. He joined Myanmar’s Defense Services Academy in 1972 and spent the next 32 years in the military, mostly working to defend the previous regime and to criticize Western countries, especially the US. He speaks fluent English as he grew up in the west.
During his time in the army, he was assigned to engage with international media. In the late 1990s, he became an SPDC spokesman tasked with dealing with visiting international officials, representatives, foreign journalists and international nongovernmental organizations, or INGOs.
Later he became an official in the MI under Khin Nyunt but was arrested along with other MI officials in 2004 when the unit was dissolved during the purge. He was released in October 2011. After his release, Hla Min shortly worked for Myanmar oil magnate Michael Moe Myint.
Observers said the fact that former MI officials who are now working for the regime were meeting with Chinese think tanks was worrisome, as the meetings involved security issues—an especially concerning development now that China is showering the junta with its support. They wondered if any other meetings like these had occurred with other countries.
They also questioned the credibility of the so-called Paragon Institute, which is completely unknown to Myanmar observers and media.
With the old spooks from the notorious MI now brought back into the game by the isolated junta to manage external relations, particularly with China, analysts wondered: What will be next? Stay tuned.
