Peace talks with Naypyidaw proposed by ASEAN
Malaysia’s Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan told the media in Kuala Lumpur after an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) “troika meeting” on Saturday that he will send a delegation to Naypyidaw for peace talks with the regime. But Hasan did not disclose a timeline or a name of who would lead this proposed delegation to Burma.
“We have already met with the respective stakeholders [in Burma] and we know their wishlist. Now, we want to present it to the [regime] and wait for feedback,” Hasan told a press conference after the meeting on Burma. The regime has been barred from attending ASEAN summits for failing to implement its Five Point Consensus, which is the regional bloc’s peace plan that calls for ending all violence and dialogue between rival groups.
Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on May 21 called for the regime and the National Unity Government (NUG) to begin peace talks. This followed his closed-door meeting with regime leader Min Aung Hlaing in Bangkok, Thailand, and a virtual meeting with NUG Prime Minister Mahn Winn Khaing Thann in April.
Fifty-four regional companies accused of supporting regime
Justice for Myanmar has accused 54 companies in ASEAN of supplying the regime with funds, jet fuel and technology. Thailand’s PTT Exploration and Production (PTTEP), Singapore’s Interra Resources, and Vietnam’s Viettel are among the companies mentioned in the statement released on Saturday.
“ASEAN’s failure to address corporate complicity has allowed the [regime] to intensify its brutal campaign of terror that has killed thousands of civilians and displaced millions with total impunity,” Yadanar Maung, Justice for Myanmar spokesperson, shared in a press release. She called on all leaders of ASEAN to end its support to the regime in Naypyidaw.
Civil society organizations in Burma demanded that ASEAN cut its ties to the regime and engage with the resistance during the 46th summit May 26-27 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The appeal followed an airstrike that killed 24 civilians—22 of them children—at a school in Sagaing Region on May 12, and at least 13 more civilians in a village of Arakan State on May 13.
Sixty-two regime troops flee Karen State into Thailand
Thai media reported that 62 military personnel fled fighting in Karen State into Thailand but were disarmed on arrival by Thai security personnel in Phop Phra District of Tak Province on Saturday. They were allowed to cross into the Thai side on humanitarian grounds to seek refuge, and 11 out of 62 were injured, according to reports.
“More than 200 people have crossed the border into Thailand for temporary shelter due to retaliatory airstrikes and drone attacks,” a source in Myawaddy District told DVB. The Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) claimed it killed 18 military personnel and injured 11 when it seized control of the regime’s Baledo outpost in Myawaddy on Friday.
The Kawthoolei Army (KTLA), People’s Defense Force (PDF), and KNLA, launched a joint offensive against regime outposts located along the Burma-Thailand border on May 21. The Karen National Union (KNU) Brigade 7 seized control of seven regime outposts in Hlaingbwe Township, located 23 miles (37 km) northeast of the state capital Hpa-An.
News by Region
ARAKAN—The Arakan Army (AA) arrested about 40 residents of Taungup Township on May 18 for protesting against its mandatory military service act, which it enacted on March 18. The protesters have not been released as of Sunday.
“We didn’t oppose the AA, but no parent wants their children to serve in an army,” a resident told DVB on the condition of anonymity, adding that military service should be voluntary. Taungup, located 284 miles (457 km) south of the state capital Sittwe, came under AA control on Nov. 24. Read more.
BAGO—The PDF in Thayawaddy District announced on Saturday that it killed at least 10 military personnel during fighting in Minhla Township on Thursday. A PDF spokesperson told DVB that it ambushed regime troops from a 100-strong column based on information from an informant.
The PDF reported that retaliatory air and artillery strikes caused at least 1,000 residents from six villages to flee their homes for safety during fighting in Taungoo Township since Thursday. No casualties were reported. Minhla and Taungoo are located 104-134 miles (167-215 km) north of the region’s capital Bago.
SAGAING–Mingin Township residents and resistance members told DVB that 11 civilians, including a newborn child, were killed and another 13 were injured by an airstrike on Friday in Mingsu village. Mingin is located 117 miles (188 km) north of the region’s capital Monywa.
“We observed numerous craters, some small, but two were significantly large,” a Mingin resident told DVB. The PDF claimed that cluster munitions were used by regime forces during fighting near the village before the airstrike on May 23.
(Exchange rate: $1 USD = 4,430 MMK)
Op-ed: Relentless pressure, unity, and the path to real peace in Myanmar. Find DVB English News on X, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, TikTok & Bluesky. Subscribe to us on YouTube.
