Pradeep Taneja V. S. Seshadri Biren Nanda Anshita Shukla

20.500.12592/fw3f56

Pradeep Taneja V. S. Seshadri Biren Nanda Anshita Shukla

4 Mar 2023

In his own report to the National Defense Security Council (NDSC) meeting held on 31st January 2023, on the eve of the second anniversary of the takeover, the chief of the armed forces, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing (MAH), characterised the condition as stable only in 198 of the total 330 townships in the country. [...] The military regime has augmented it further by the imposition of martial law in 37 townships in the conflict intense areas in the north-west (Sagaing and Magwe regions and in the Chin state) and south-east (Kayah state) parts of Myanmar. [...] As for the ethnic armed groups (EAOs) on the east, north and west of the country they also remain divided among themselves with some actively assisting the PDFs and in support of the NUG, some aligned or supportive of the military and a third set of EAOs, waiting and watching. [...] The substantial shift in foreign policy, from the onset of Duterte’s presidency to the end of his term, reflects an acknowledgement within the administration of the futility of the Philippines pivot to China. [...] The reinvigorated partnership between the Philippines and the US reflected in the additional bases secured by the US under the VFA28 and the upcoming largest bilateral military exercise29 is bound to invite China’s wrath.

Authors

Raj Kumar Shahi

Pages
16
Published in
India