Beyond the Mekong

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Beyond the Mekong

Delve into Southeast Asian geopolitics with The Diplomat's Luke Hunt and guests who know the region and the issues.

  1. Myanmar and China: An American View with Michael Martin

    2 DAYS AGO

    Myanmar and China: An American View with Michael Martin

    Chinese plans for Myanmar could have far reaching consequences in 2025.Michael Martin, adjunct fellow with the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C., returns to Beyond the Mekong amid speculation that China and Myanmar's military junta are preparing to establish a “joint security company” to protect Beijing’s interests in the war-torn country. The junta has reportedly formed a committee to prepare an MoU for establishing a security company, which could be dispatched into Rakhine State, where fighting this year has been intense and the U.N. that two million people are facing “the dire prospect of famine." Rakhine is also the starting point of Beijing’s 771-kilometer oil and gas pipelines, which stretches across the country and are a crucial energy source for the Chinese economy. A joint security company to protect the corridor could include Chinese boots on the ground and the sale of weapons and special equipment. It’s a strategy with the potential to reshape the military equation after the junta suffered dramatic territorial losses over the past year to anti-regime forces, consisting of ethnic armed organizations, the People’s Defense Force and the National Unity Government in exile. Martin has spent two decades as a specialist policy advisor on Myanmar alongside China, Hong Kong, and Vietnam. His work includes a 15-year tenure with the Congressional Research Service of the Library of Congress, where he provided political and economic analysis. He spoke with The Diplomat’s Luke Hunt about Chinese intentions for Myanmar and the need to protect its interests in the country, regardless of which side emerges victorious in a bloody civil war that has lasted almost four years and claimed an estimated 50,000 lives.

    30 min
  2. Myanmar: Situation Update with Paul Greening

    NOV 21

    Myanmar: Situation Update with Paul Greening

    Is China preparing to put boots on the ground to protect its investments in the country?

    35 min
  3. Keith Richburg Discusses Trump 2.0, China, and ASEAN

    NOV 13

    Keith Richburg Discusses Trump 2.0, China, and ASEAN

    The veteran Asia correspondent is expecting another “carnival of chaos” after Trump returns to the White House.

    35 min
  4. Melody Mociulski on Taking Myanmar’s ‘Intrepid Paths’

    NOV 7

    Melody Mociulski on Taking Myanmar’s ‘Intrepid Paths’

    A trip down the 1970s hippie-trail led the American author to a lifelong relationship with the country and its people.

    34 min
  5. Talking ASEAN Supply Chains With Chris Catto-Smith

    OCT 30

    Talking ASEAN Supply Chains With Chris Catto-Smith

    A logistics specialist discusses economics, poverty and the nuts and bolts of climate change in Southeast Asia.Why do Southeast Asian farmers get paid so little? How can people respond to the immediate impact of climate change? What must governments in ASEAN do if they’re serious about cross-border trade? Why is Cambodia building a 180-kilometer canal at a cost of $1.7 billion? Chris Catto-Smith is a logistics specialist, a career which began with the Royal Australian Air Force in the 1970s. He moved to the private sector and then took his experience to Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands encouraging disadvantaged communities to develop value chains and new routes to markets. He spoke with The Diplomat’s Luke Hunt in Melbourne, where he explained the issues confronting farmers and fisherfolk who are struggling to make ends meet and discussed what needs to be done in regards to the devastating impacts of climate change. Catto-Smith’s business principles are aligned with Corporate Social Responsibility, also known as CSR, which allows him to utilize consulting income to offset pro-bono development work. It’s a new model which allows him the freedom to select and support projects of his choice. Within the region where he works, climate change and severe storm damage have emerged as immediate problems, particularly in Vietnam, where he spent the COVID-19 years. During the pandemic, he began rethinking how to deal with the major issues confronting Southeast Asia – and getting goods to market. That includes the provision of cold storage, transport, clean water, sanitation, and health and education facilities, as well as the logistics needed in remote areas, where crops are grown but basic necessities are wanting and the infrastructure and post-harvest skills needed for the market are lacking.

    39 min
  6. Inside Myanmar with Jason Tower of the USIP

    SEP 30

    Inside Myanmar with Jason Tower of the USIP

    What happened in Myawaddy as the junta saddles up with China.Jason Tower is the country director of the Burma Program at the United States Institute of Peace (USIP), where he closely follows Myanmar’s civil war, human trafficking, and the industrialization of scam compounds, which have spread across Southeast Asia in recent years. He holds unique insights into what is happening on the ground in Myanmar and has authored several reports for USIP over recent years, which include dire warnings about the conflict and the impact this is having on the civilian population. A veteran with two decades of experience in regional security, Tower also sounded on the growth of human trafficking and scam compounds in Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos, which are "rapidly evolving into the most powerful criminal network of the modern era.” Tower spoke with The Diplomat’s Luke Hunt at length about the fall of Myawaddy to anti-regime forces in April and what actually happened afterwards in regards to the Karen National Union and the local Border Force Guard and why many in the rebel camps felt betrayed. He also talks about the spectacular failures of the military on the battlefield and China’s expanding role in the conflict as it shores up its own financial and strategic interests – including its oil and gas pipeline that cuts across the country – by drawing ever closer to the junta and its leader Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing. This includes the complex relationship between the Arakan Army and the Rohingya in Rakhine state where the fighting has been brutal in recent months with the military desperately trying to hang on to what few areas it still controls.

    40 min
  7. Malaysia’s 1MDB Scandal and ‘The Siege Within’

    SEP 24

    Malaysia’s 1MDB Scandal and ‘The Siege Within’

    A new book by Leslie Lopez details the unfolding of one of the world's largest financial scandals.

    25 min
  8. Am and Steve Sandford: Witness to a Myanmar Genocide

    SEP 14

    Am and Steve Sandford: Witness to a Myanmar Genocide

    The journalists discuss the Rohingya persecutions: How did it start and when will it end?

    36 min
See All (97)

About

Delve into Southeast Asian geopolitics with The Diplomat's Luke Hunt and guests who know the region and the issues.

Information

  • Creator
    The Diplomat
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2024
  • Episodes
    97
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2024 Diplomat Media Inc.
  • Show Website
    Beyond the Mekong

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