Historically strained, Myanmar's foreign relations, particularly with Western nations, have improved since 2012. Relations became strained once more in 2017 with the Rohingya genocide and due to the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état. Myanmar has generally maintained warmer relations with near states and is a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
José Manuel Ramos-Horta GCL GColIH is an East Timorese politician. He has been the president of East Timor since 2022, having previously also held the position from 20 May 2007 to 20 May 2012. Previously he was Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2002 to 2006 and Prime Minister from 2006 to 2007. He was a co-recipient of the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize, along with Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo, for working "towards a just and peaceful solution to the conflict in East Timor".
The Indonesian invasion of East Timor, known in Indonesia as Operation Lotus, began on 7 December 1975 when the Indonesian military (ABRI/TNI) invaded East Timor under the pretext of anti-colonialism and anti-communism to overthrow the Fretilin regime that had emerged in 1974. The overthrow of the popular and short-lived Fretilin-led government sparked a violent quarter-century occupation in which approximately 100,000–180,000 soldiers and civilians are estimated to have been killed or starved to death. The Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation in East Timor documented a minimum estimate of 102,000 conflict-related deaths in East Timor throughout the entire period from 1974 to 1999, including 18,600 violent killings and 84,200 deaths from disease and starvation; Indonesian forces and their auxiliaries combined were responsible for 70% of the killings.
Kawlin (ကောလင်းမြို့) is a town in the Sagaing Division in Myanmar. Since December 2018 it has been the administration headquarters for Kawlin District as well as Kawlin Township. As of 2019, the town had a population of 25,254, up from 21,431 in 2014. The town is further subdivided into 8 wards.
The Arakan Army is an ethnic armed organisation based in Rakhine State (Arakan). Founded on 10 April 2009, the AA is the military wing of the United League of Arakan (ULA). It is currently led by Commander-in-Chief Major General Twan Mrat Naing and vice deputy commander-in-chief Brigadier General Nyo Twan Awng. The Arakan Army states that the objective of its armed revolution is to restore the sovereignty of the Arakan people. In a February 2024 interview, Twan Mrat Naing claimed that the AA had grown to at least 38,000 troops. Anthony Davis, an expert of military and security, rejected this claim and estimated that it has at least 15,000 troops in Chin State and Rakhine State, in addition to around 1500 in Kachin State and Shan State. In the early 2010s, the Arakan Army fought alongside the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) against the Tatmadaw in the Kachin conflict. Following the 2016 outbreak of conflict in Rakhine state, AA became more heavily involved in the Arakan region. In 2019, AA would launch attacks on state security forces and the Myanmar Army would respond heightening clashes. The AA reached a ceasefire in late 2020 after eroding the central government's control in northern Rakhine. The power vacuum would be filled by the AA over the next 18 months with state-building efforts, like their COVID-19 vaccine rollouts.
East Timor–Philippines relations refer to foreign relations between East Timor and the Philippines. The Philippines was actively involved in the United Nations peacekeeping forces in East Timor during its move towards independence. When several nations recognized East Timor's sovereignty, the Philippines began official diplomatic relations between the two governments with the establishment of an embassy in Dili and East Timor established its embassy in Pasig.
The Karenni National People's Liberation Front (KNPLF) is a communist and Karenni nationalist insurgent group active in Kayah State, Myanmar (Burma). It agreed to become a government-sponsored border guard force on 8 November 2009 although it remains active under the name of KNPLF. Starting from 13 June 2023, it has decided to change sides to the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), Karenni Army (KA), Karenni Nationalities Defense Force (KNDF), and People's Defense Force (PDF) and fight the military regime.
The State Administration Council is the military junta currently governing Myanmar, established by Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services Min Aung Hlaing following the February 2021 coup d'état and the declaration of a state of emergency by the National Defence and Security Council. Under the constitution, the Commander-in-Chief holds absolute legislative, executive, and judicial power during a state of emergency. Min Aung Hlaing has delegated his legislative power to the SAC, which he chairs. It has formed a provisional administration, also led by Min Aung Hlaing as Prime Minister of Myanmar.
The National Unity Government of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar is a Myanmar government in exile formed by the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH), a group of elected lawmakers and members of parliament ousted in the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état. The European Parliament has recognized the NUG as the legitimate government of Myanmar. It includes representatives of the National League for Democracy, ethnic minority insurgent groups, and various minor parties.
Duwa Lashi La is a Burmese politician and lawyer of Kachin descent and the president of the Kachin National Consultative Council.
The People's Defence Force is the armed wing of the National Unity Government in Myanmar. The armed wing was formed by the NUG from youths and pro-democracy activists on 5 May 2021 in response to the coup d'état that occurred on 1 February 2021 that put the military junta and their armed wing the Tatmadaw in power. The military junta designated it as a terrorist organisation on 8 May 2021. In October 2021, NUG's Ministry of Defence announced that it had formed a central committee to coordinate military operations across the country.
In Myanmar's next general election, voters are expected to elect representatives to both the Amyotha Hluttaw and the Pyithu Hluttaw of the Assembly of the Union. The planned election would be the first after the 2021 military coup d'état. Though the military junta, the State Administration Council, initially promised to hold the election by August 2023, it has since indefinitely delayed the election in the face of increasing violence.
The Myanmar civil war, also called the Burmese Spring Revolution, Burmese civil war or People's Defensive War, is an ongoing civil war following Myanmar's long-running insurgencies, which escalated significantly in response to the 2021 military coup d'état and the subsequent violent crackdown on anti-coup protests. The NUG and major ethnic armed organisations repudiated the 2008 Constitution and called instead for a democratic federal state. Besides engaging the rebels, the junta also contends with anti-junta forces in areas under its control.
The Karenni Nationalities Defence Force is an armed insurgent group in Myanmar formed in response to the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état. The KNDF also includes other organizations, such as the KNPP, which an official regard as "good relations between the EAOs and the public" The KNDF has engaged in fighting with the junta, mainly with the 66th Light Infantry Division.
The Myanmar Royal Dragon Army, also known as Myanmar's Royal Dragon Army, was an armed resistance organisation based in Pale Township, Sagaing Region. It was founded on 1 January 2022 by its leader, Bo Nagar, and was under the command of the National Unity Government. The Myanmar Royal Dragon Army was reformed and renamed as the Burma National Revolutionary Army on September 9, 2023, becoming an ethnic armed organisation for the Bamar people.
The following is a timeline of major events during the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), following the 2021 military coup d'état and protests. It was also a renewed intensity in existing internal conflict in Myanmar.
This is the list of important events happened in Myanmar in 2023.
The Battle of Kawkareik or siege of Kawkareik occurred in late October 2022 when the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) escalated fighting in southeastern Myanmar and besieged the district-level capital town of Kawkareik. At the time, it appeared to be a significant first seizure of a major town by anti-junta forces since the renewed civil war.
On 17 October 2022, high school teacher Saw Tun Moe was kidnapped and extrajudicially killed by militants associated with Myanmar's State Administration Council. The killing, sparked by Saw Tun Moe's career as an educator at a National Unity Government-affiliated school, was noted for its brutality, with the victim being decapitated and his head being publicly displayed. The killing was subject to international condemnation from the United States.
Various countries and international organizations have influenced the Myanmar civil war (2021–present) to various extents.
