Min Aung Hlaing’s first trip abroad since inauguration
Burma’s regime leader Min Aung Hlaing met with India’s External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar to discuss “bilateral partnership, including connectivity and trade” in New Delhi on Saturday. He is scheduled to meet with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday during his official visit May 30–June 3. This marks Min Aung Hlaing’s first foreign trip since being inaugurated as Burma’s president on April 10.
A planned protest against Min Aung Hlaing’s visit by Burma nationals in India was stopped by Indian police at Budella Park in New Delhi on May 29. Hla Kyaw Zaw, a political analyst, told DVB that Min Aung Hlaing is looking for another regional ally as a counterweight to China. Zin Mar Aung, the National Unity Government (NUG) Foreign Minister, sent a letter to Jaishankar on May 27, asking him to reconsider Min Aung Hlaing’s visit.
New Delhi aims to conclude the 870-mile (1,400 km) long India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral (IMTT) Highway, designed to link Moreh in India’s Manipur State with Mae Sot in Thailand via Burma, by 2027. The project, which is reportedly 70 per cent finished, has been stalled due to civil war in Burma following the 2021 military coup. Burma and India share a 1,020 mile (1,643 km) long border. Read more
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Two rights groups file complaint over Thai energy firms
Blood Money Campaign and the Campaign for a New Myanmar issued a joint statement on Wednesday announcing that they had filed a complaint with Thailand’s National Human Rights Commission, which is a nominally independent constitutional watchdog. The rights groups called for an investigation into the operations of Thai energy firms PTT, PTTEP, and Northern Gulf Petroleum in Burma since the 2021 coup.
PTT and its subsidiary PTTEP are Thai state-controlled enterprises, Northern Gulf Petroleum is a privately-owned Thai company. The two groups alleged that all three are in violation of the U.N. Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) guidelines as they generate more than $1 billion USD annually in revenue for the regime in Naypyidaw.
Whistleblower group Justice For Myanmar (JFM) has urged investors to divest from PTT, PTTEP, and Northern Gulf Petroleum, accusing them of helping finance the military’s war crimes and human rights abuses in Burma through gas revenue payments from the Yadana, Zawtika, Yetagun, and Min Ye Thu gas field projects. The three groups state that revenue generated from oil and gas provides financial support to the military.
Three killed after motorboat capsizes in Yangon River
Yangon residents told DVB that all three people aboard a public motorboat, including the boat operator, were killed after it capsized in the Yangon River on Thursday. The accident occurred at around 7:00 p.m. while the ferry boat was traveling from downtown Yangon to Dala Township, located nine miles (14 km) south of the commercial capital.
Residents told DVB that the motorboat capsized after it was struck by another Yangon-Dala ferry used to transport vehicles and passengers across the river. “The ferry rammed into it and since it was low tide, the current was strong,” a Yangon resident told DVB. He added that boat and ferry crossings were suspended during search and rescue operations.
Residents in Dala Township told DVB that although the Yangon-Dala Bridge opened on Feb. 6 with Yangon Bus Service (YBS) buses now connecting downtown to the the township, thousands of residents still rely on motorboats and ferries each day to commute to and from the city due to the limited number of YBS buses and lack of public transportation.
Watch our DVB English News report: The True Cost of the Yangon-Dala Bridge
News by Region
ARAKAN/CHIN—Four civilians were killed and nine others were injured in airstrikes carried out by the Burma Air Force on Ramree and Paletwa townships on Thursday. Ramree is located 278 miles (447 km) south of the Arakan State capital Sittwe and Paletwa is 287 miles (461 km) south of the Chin State capital Hakha.
A Ramree resident told DVB that the airstrikes targeted a road construction site, killing three and injuring seven workers who are in a critical condition. A Paletwa resident told DVB that an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) scout drone was spotted before airstrikes killed one civilian and injured two.
KAREN—The Myanmar-Thailand Friendship Bridge No. 2, a vital trade artery connecting Myawaddy Township with Tak Province’s Mae Sot District, was officially reopened on Thursday. The border crossing had been completely shut down since Aug. 18. The reopening caught traders by surprise.
“The bridge reopened unannounced,” a merchant in Myawaddy told DVB, adding that while cargo transport has resumed, cross-border commerce faces bureaucratic hurdles as merchants transporting goods across the border only possess export licenses; import licenses must still be applied for. Read more
MAGWAY—Residents of Myitchay town told DVB that one civilian was killed by regime forces on Thursday, adding that 10 other civilians have been killed and over 1,000 homes have been burned down since May 12. Myitchay is located 113 miles (181 km) north of the region’s capital Magway.
Around 20,000 residents of Myitchay have been displaced from their homes due to fighting between regime forces and the People’s Defence Force (PDF). Myitchay is located 37 miles (59 km) east of Magway’s Pauk Township, which was seized by the PDF in 2022 has been partially administered by the NUG.
(Exchange rate: $1 USD = 4,190 MMK)
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