Min Aung Hlaing visits Thai Prime Minister in Bangkok
A two-day “state” visit by Myanmar regime leader Min Aung Hlaing to the Thai capital Bangkok to meet Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul began today. This is Min Aung Hlaing’s second visit to an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member state since he was inaugurated as Myanmar’s president by a pro-military parliament on April 10.
“Thailand has advocated a calibrated re-engagement approach that keeps dialogue open and responds to realities on the ground while encouraging concrete progress,” said Anutin, while speaking to reporters in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Aug. 4. Min Aung Hlaing joined Anutin at the Thailand-Myanmar Business Forum 2026 on Aug. 6 to promote trade, investment and economic cooperation.
Anutin said that ASEAN is pushing Min Aung Hlaing for his compliance with the Five-Point Consensus, the regional bloc’s peace plan for Myanmar, which calls for an end to violence, the release of political prisoners and inclusive talks. Sixteen Thai civil society organizations issued a joint statement on Aug. 5 opposing Min Aung Hlaing’s visit to Bangkok. Read more on our website
Malaysia says it will not put Myanmar refugee lives at risk
The Malaysian government announced on Wednesday that it will not proceed with plans to repatriate an initial group of 5,000 refugees—primarily ethnic Rohingya—from Burma if authorities determine that their lives would be at risk or if they would face persecution upon return.
Communications Minister and government spokesperson Fahmi Fadzil delivered the statement during a weekly post-Cabinet press briefing, confirming that the Foreign Ministry (Wisma Putra) and the Home Ministry are reviewing screening procedures and coordinating criteria with the regime in Naypyidaw before any transfers take place.
“Malaysia, as a responsible country, will not return the 5,000 Myanmar refugees if they would either be persecuted or their lives would be threatened… The junta government in Myanmar is ready to receive them, but we will study what the criteria are, and if appropriate, we will implement it. The Prime Minister has taken note that we cannot send them back if their lives are threatened,” said Fahmi Fadzil on Aug. 5. Read more on our website
Bangladesh proposes cross-border natural gas pipeline
The government in Dhaka has formally proposed importing natural gas from Myanmar through a cross-border pipeline to Chattogram to revitalize bilateral energy cooperation and address mounting domestic energy shortages, Bangladesh media reported.
The initiative was presented on Aug. 2 by Bangladesh Power, Energy, and Mineral Resources Minister Iqbal Hassan Mahmood during a meeting with Myanmar’s regime Ambassador to Bangladesh, Kyaw Soe Moe, at the Secretariat in Dhaka.
Declining domestic natural gas production has left Bangladesh increasingly reliant on costly imported liquefied natural gas (LNG). To secure long-term energy supplies, Dhaka seeks to revive a long-standing proposal to build a pipeline linking gas fields in Myanmar directly to southeastern Bangladesh. Read more on our website
News by Region
AYEYARWADY—Two flood-related deaths have now been confirmed as widespread flooding inundates more than 100 villages affecting an estimated 40,000 residents, residents of Lemyethna Township told DVB. Local relief groups confirmed on Aug. 5 that a volunteer drowned during a relief mission on Tuesday.
“He was swept away by strong currents. [He] couldn’t swim,” a resident involved in relief efforts told DVB. The body of a local woman, who had been reported missing after being swept away by floodwaters, was recovered in Lemyethna town on the same day. Read more on our website
MANDALAY—Residents of Amarapura Township’s Yindaw village tract appealed to the Pyitthu Hluttaw, or lower house of parliament, to reconsider the eviction order from the regime’s Mandalay Region Farmland Management Committee. Families living in 10,000 homes and buildings were ordered to leave by Aug. 14.
Amarapura residents living on a total of 405 acres in Yindaw village tract stated that they have been living there for 20 years. Building demolition began on June 19. The Farmland Law, enacted in 2012, stipulates that farmland is to be used for agricultural purposes only and not for dwelling.
YANGON—Workers at the Spring Moon Garment Manufacturing Co-Ltd in Yangon’s Hlaingtharyar Township Industrial Zone 4 told DVB that they are demanding another meeting with the factory owner on Aug. 10 to discuss a raise in wages and overtime pay.
Factory workers told DVB on the condition of anonymity that a total of 177 employees at Spring Moon Garment Manufacturing Co-Ltd went on strike on July 8 to demand a daily wage increase of 13,000 MMK ($3USD) and 2,500 MMK ($0.50 USD) for overtime pay. Read more on our website
(Exchange rate: $1 USD = 4,440 MMK)
