Beyond the Mekong

Murray Hunter spoke with The Diplomat about SLAPPs and transnational repression.Thai-based Australian journalist and scholar Murray Hunter was detained by Thai police last week after a Malaysian institution initiated a defamation charge, and made a complaint across the border in Thailand, over his critical writing. Hunter says his case is the latest example of the expanding use of what has become known as Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs), which are being used by governments and others to silence critics of all persuasions at home and abroad through transnational repression. It’s a tactic that has been deployed everywhere from the Trump administration in the United States to China and is becoming more common in private enterprise. It’s a stark contrast to days long gone when slander and defamation belonged in civil courts and people would sue for financial damages. Across Southeast Asia, and beyond, defamation is a criminal charge that can warrant pre-trial detention and a lawsuit can be launched in any jurisdiction where a report can be downloaded from the internet, enabling cross-border litigation. Hunter says SLAPPS are often initiated but not always followed through, with the threat of legal action providing enough of a threat to silence dissenting voices. Because of this, Western countries like Australia are considering anti-SLAPP laws. Hunter, 66, spoke with The Diplomat’s Luke Hunt about his plight which began with his arrest while boarding a flight to Hong Kong from Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport after the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) made its complaints. He spent the night in prison, was bailed Tuesday morning and will front the courts on November 17, where he is facing a maximum prison term of two years. The MCMC confirmed it had made police reports against Hunter in Malaysia and Thailand. The ramifications are extraordinary across industry. It's not just journalists, academics or politicians – from a financial analyst who comments on a company to a tourist who reviews a restaurant, all are at risk, Hunter says, of cross-border prosecution for expressing an opinion.

Where are travelers heading amid the post-pandemic shake-up of aviation trends?Matt Driskill is the editor of Asian Aviation and has worked as an Asia-based journalist and content producer since 1990, for outlets including Reuters and the International Herald Tribune/New York Times. From his studio in Phnom Penh, Driskill spoke with The Diplomat’s Luke Hunt about the challenging state of the aviation industry, the successes and difficulties, and where travelers are heading next amid an ongoing rebuild in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. Vietnam has emerged as the top destination for travelers, Chinese tourists are slowly returning to Cambodia despite a border conflict with Thailand, but Bali is not measuring up. Technology is also making life easier with less time spent at check-in and in passport queues, and perhaps more importantly it’s also saving the airlines money. However, the robotic world is not for everyone, as the less-tech-savvy are finding out. Driskill has received awards from the Associated Press for Investigative Reporting and Business Writing and in 1989 was named the John J. McCloy Fellow by the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University in New York where he earned his Master's Degree. He is a former president of the Foreign Correspondents Club of Hong Kong. Driskill appears on international broadcast outlets like Al Jazeera, CNA and the BBC and has taught journalism at Hong Kong University and American University of Paris. In 2022 he was honored with the Outstanding Achievement Award from the Aerospace Media Awards Asia organization for his editorials and in 2024 he received a Special Recognition for Editorial Perspectives award from the same organization.

A conversation with barrister Craig Tuck about law and the right to dignity.In Bali, this week, New Zealand-raised barrister Craig Tuck hosted the first LawAid International Conference, which aims to advance human rights through connecting justice with human dignity within the transnational legal system. Lawyers, academics, and people who work at the coal face of social justice championed the incorporation of dignity into laws governing issues ranging from human rights, modern slavery, supply chains, and the high seas to the trafficking of workers into scam compounds and drug trafficking operations. Often quoted was Jordan Peterson, the Canadian psychologist, who said: “That each person had something of transcendent value about them... we dispense that value at our serious peril.” The Diplomat’s Luke Hunt also spoke at the conference and with Tuck on the sidelines about the progression of human rights within international law and the need to promote dignity within a legal framework and in domestic judicial systems that are too often found wanting at best. As the conference heard, human dignity must be a cornerstone of the law and in the bigger picture in the near future that could impact legally on wars in Gaza, Ukraine, and Myanmar, and on autocratic governments around the world. It’s a complicated subject on the legal edge, as Tuck explains.

Checking facts and debunking falsehoods is out of fashion under Trump 2.0.Sushi Das is an award-winning journalist, author, and journalism lecturer at RMIT University in Melbourne where she also spent eight years working international fact checking desks aligned with Meta and Facebook, focused on debunking online misinformation. She was chief-of-staff for RMIT ABC Fact Check, which focused on political fact checking, from 2017 to 2021, before being named as associate director of RMIT FactLab where the attention was on debunking social media. But those days are ending with online platform operators relinquishing fact checkers following the reelection of Donald Trump as United States president. RMIT FactLab worked in partnership with Meta, but it was closed down in January after RMIT heard Meta’s announcement that it would axe its fact-checking operations in the US. Das spoke with The Diplomat’s Luke Hunt in Melbourne about the use of the word “lie” and the process of “enshittification,” which was named Word of the Year in 2023 by the American Dialect Society and is used to describe the decay of digital platforms – more so as AI leaves its mark. It’s a complicated issue that stretches far and wide, from Peter Dutton’s failed bid to win the last Australian election and autocrats in Southeast Asia seeking to control the message that suits them, to transnational repression and criminals adept at handling the latest technology. But some positive surprises did emerge from the research, which Das says has found that politicians do keep their promises most of the time. Das worked at The Age newspaper for 22 years, where she held a series of senior positions, including news editor, senior writer and opinion editor, and her work has been recognized with two Melbourne Press Club awards. She is also the author of "Deranged Marriage," an east-meets-west memoir about arranged marriage. As well as lecturing in journalism at RMIT, she is currently researching fact-checking for a PhD.

The junta plans its election while turmoil engulfs Thai politics.The junta in war-torn Myanmar has called elections with voting expected to begin on December 28 and continue well into January, which military chief Min Aung Hlaing hopes will legitimize his rule that began with a coup in early 2021. That coup ousted an elected government led by the National League for Democracy (NLD) and tipped Myanmar into a bloody civil war, which has left many thousands of people dead and forced hundreds of thousands to flee across the border into Thailand. The military is now in control of just 30 percent of the country as it battles a mix of ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) and the People’s Defense Forces. Mae Sot-based military analyst Paul Greening spoke with The Diplomat’s Luke Hunt about the pending poll and a recent offensive launched by the military across the country, aimed at retaking territory lost to the EAOs over the past two years. Its likely outcomes include a gradual acceptance by ASEAN and Western countries of the poll result, which critics say will be rigged with the backing of China and Russia. It’s an assessment backed by Greening’s historical take on elections in Myanmar dating back to the Second World War, and how history appears destined to repeat itself despite the objections of the rebels, civil society groups, and those who have opposed the coup. Greening also shares his thoughts about suspended Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, who could be forced to resign on Friday when the Constitutional Court delivers its verdict over an ethics violation, potentially triggering fresh elections.

A conversation with Dr. Edwin Pugh.[caption id="attachment_293739" align="alignright" width="239"] Photo Supplied[/caption] Dr. Edwin Pugh packed his bags with his wife Kim, also a doctor, and in 1988, left the comforts of Britain and went to work at Site 8, a notoriously difficult refugee camp and one of the few that was run by the Khmer Rouge. The battles were many: all the diseases associated with the tropics and intense poverty were there, as were the many factions fighting in Cambodia’s long-running civil war, which back then included a Vietnamese occupation force. Landmine victims, malnutrition, malaria, and pregnancy were all part of daily life in a camp shrouded with secrecy and spies deployed by the Khmer Rouge. These were also issues he would confront during the genocide in Rwanda. Ever since, Pugh has maintained a role in delivering critical health services to where they are needed in Cambodia, and he has just published his latest book: "Conflicted: a doctor’s illustrated account of working in Site 8 Khmer Rouge refugee camp in 1988." "Conflicted" includes diary entries and more than a hundred previously unpublished photographs from Site 8 during Pugh’s tenure. His book is a timely release given the current border conflict between Cambodia and Thailand, which is dominating life on both sides of the frontier. Pugh spoke with The Diplomat’s Luke Hunt about those outstanding border issues and about how much life in Cambodia has improved since its days as a failed state. He also says the nature of NGO work has shifted dramatically and that needs have changed accordingly.

A conversation with British filmmaker Andy Ball.[caption id="attachment_292640" align="alignright" width="250"] British filmmaker Andy Ball, the director of "The Clearing." (Photo Supplied)[/caption] Andy Ball is a British documentary cinematographer and director with more than five years of experience in Cambodia, where he has focused on character-driven and investigative videos about human rights and environmental issues in Southeast Asia. His latest work is "The Clearing," which premiered one year after Cambodia jailed five activists from the award-winning environmentalist group Mother Nature for plotting against the government, after they had sounded the alarm about river pollution and land reclamation projects. Ball spoke with The Diplomat’s Luke Hunt about The Clearing, which follows Chandaravuth, the group’s most outspoken member, and his colleagues in the months leading up to their incarceration as they continued on a collision course with Cambodia’s rulers. The Mother Nature environmentalists refused to buckle under pressure, and the severity of their sentences – up to eight years behind bars – shocked many people in Cambodia. Environmental activists, NGOs, and human rights groups have urged the government to release them, noting the Phnom Penh Appeal Court has indefinitely postponed the activists’ appeal of the conviction. “These activists should never have been imprisoned. These young men and women pose no threat to the Cambodian state,” the rights group Licadho said in a statement earlier this month. Ball’s work has been published and broadcasted by Mongabay, BBC, CBS, New York Times, South China Morning Post, and Insider.

A conversation with EU parliamentarian Chloe Ridel.Six months ago, the European Parliament’s Subcommittee on Human Rights charged Chloe Ridel, a French Member of the European Parliament, with preparing a report focusing on how the EU can address a dramatic rise in transnational repression. That Draft Report on Addressing Transnational Repression of Human Rights Defenders is now being considered by the EU Parliament, which must decide how to overhaul a system that is failing to protect EU citizens from countries as far afield as Iran and China. Ridel spoke with The Diplomat’s Luke Hunt about the links between transnational repression,  international crime syndicates, and autocratic governments in Asia, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East, and what the EU needs to do to fight the scourge. She says the EU has fallen behind nations like Australia and Canada in tackling transnational repression. It even lacks its own data base and relies on Freedom House to document repression that has included killings, abductions, torture, and the jailing of opposition politicians, rights activists, and journalists. In February, Freedom House released a report that found a quarter of the world’s governments were using tactics of transnational repression. China topped the list of “physical and direct incidents” with 22 percent of recorded cases between 2014 and 2024. Among the major problems are Interpol, which Ridel says is not fit for the purpose, given that red notices issued by authoritarian regimes are then used by Interpol agents to detain and return political dissidents to their countries of origin, and too often to a tragic fate. Ridel became a Member of the EU Parliament for France’s Socialist Party in 2024. She has been spokesperson for the party since March 2023 and sits on the EU parliament’s subcommittee for human rights. Prior to this, she was a French civil servant and a member of the Jean-Jaures Foundation in Paris. In 2020, she co-founded a think tank, the Rousseau Institute.

A conversation with veteran correspondent Ian Timberlake.Ian Timberlake cut his teeth as a foreign correspondent in Timor-Leste where he initially worked as a stringer for Agence France-Presse (AFP). In the late 1990s, he witnessed the end of the Suharto regime in Indonesia and the atrocities that were inflicted in the former Portuguese colony amid the fight for independence. Over the next three decades he spanned the globe, working with AFP from bases in Jakarta, Singapore, Hanoi, and Hong Kong and then further out in Khartoum, Riyadh, Washington, and finally Nicosia, from where he has just retired. He is now back in Bangkok and takes an interest in white collar crime and money laundering. He does his best to keep up with the latest technological advances deployed by criminal syndicates and international law enforcement agencies alike. Timberlake, a dual Canadian-Australian citizen, spoke with The Diplomat’s Luke Hunt about a career that began in 1986 on Ontario newspapers where he specialized in his great passion, crime reporting, and shared an award for investigative reporting. That career included stints working on the decks of an aircraft carrier during the invasion of Iraq and a fact-checking desk while taking on assignments in conflicts zones like Sri Lanka and Afghanistan. Throughout it all, he says, justice is rare but journalists must speak truth to power and continue to hold world leaders accountable for their actions, despite the relentless assaults and issues confronting the press.

Confronting the junta with words and the realities of a war they started.Joe Freeman is an American writer and researcher who has worked across Southeast Asia for more than a decade, reporting from Thailand, Cambodia, the Philippines and in Myanmar during the mid-2010s when the country was experiencing a rare era of democracy. It was then that he covered the defamation trial of poet Maung Saungkha, who would eventually fight on the frontlines of Myanmar’s civil war, after it erupted in 2021 when an elected government was ousted by the military. Freeman was determined to find Saungkha and the result was the book "Frontline Poets: The Literary Rebels Taking on Myanmar's Military," which includes a collection of gritty poems by five poets from all walks of life. Intermixed with the poems are illustrations and photographs chronicling their lives from early writings to the dramatic upheavals that followed the coup d’etat – and how they responded to the events that are tearing Myanmar apart. "Frontline Poets" was co-authored with Aung Naing Soe, a prominent Burmese filmmaker and journalist who has reported on Myanmar for several international news outlets, and features poetry published in original English translations for the first time. Freeman also says "Frontline Poets" continues a grand tradition in Burmese poetry, inspired by the country's long history of uprisings and revolutions dating back more than a century, when poems were used as an expression of opposition to the British colonialists. In this podcast, he talks with The Diplomat’s Luke Hunt about his latest work, published by River Books, and how "Frontline Poets" seeks to shine a light on that rich historical legacy.

Anti-regime forces are focused on seizing control of military bases.Military analyst Paul Greening returns to Beyond the Mekong for an update on Myanmar, where fighting has intensified since Sagaing and Mandalay regions were struck by an earthquake on March 28 that left more than 5,300 people dead and a damage bill of $11 billion. Greening told The Diplomat’s Luke Hunt in Mae Sot that the emphasis by anti-regime forces had shifted from taking large swathes of territory to seizing towns, smaller cities, and military bases from where the military’s weapons are being captured and used against them. It was this strategy that enabled rebels to shoot down two helicopters with 120mm shells, which have a range of 10 kilometers and were “harvested” from military bases seized by ethnic armed organizations fighting to oust the junta. He also says a deal between the military and Russia to install two 55MW nuclear reactors in Dawei, less than 400 kilometers as the wind blows from Bangkok, is doubtful and that China is realizing the junta can’t protect its oil and gas outlets and is now holding separate talks with the Arakan Army Greening, who has worked as a political analyst and consultant covering the conflict in Myanmar, also says the junta has diverted funds meant for victims of the Mandalay earthquake to the reconstruction of its capital in Naypyidaw. And he provides an update on criminal syndicates and human traffickers running the scam compounds after the Chinese-backed Thai crackdown along its borders.

A conversation about exploitation and quick profits with Dave Welsh from the Solidarity Center.Mae Sot, which sits on the Thai-Myanmar border, has a well-earned reputation as a gateway to Myanmar's civil war and the scam compounds run by human traffickers, which have been subjected to a Chinese-backed crackdown by Thai authorities over recent months. The frontier town is also a haven for refugees. Mai Sot has an organic population of about 40,000 but has attracted an additional 250,000 people from Myanmar, who have fled the country's bloody civil wars and are in dire need of humanitarian assistance. But according to Dave Welsh, country director for the Solidarity Center in Thailand and Myanmar, their sheer numbers have also attracted business, in particular, the garment industry and big brands, in search of the cheap labor they require to maximize profits. Aiding their quest is the security situation. Mae Sot, about 490 kilometers northwest of Bangkok, is hemmed in by mountains, tight Thai security, and strict visa regulations, which ensure that Myanmar’s refugees have little choice but to stay put and take local jobs for paltry sums. Welsh spoke with The Diplomat’s Luke Hunt about their plight and exploitation and his push for a platform that would enable workers to sue employers through Thai courts, a condition that unions want incorporated into future free trade agreements with the likes of the European Union. Mae Sot, he says, is the next ground zero for the region's labor struggle, adding that unions also want the 10 members of ASEAN to act as a trade bloc and enforce basic international workplace standards, particularly in the garment industry, which remains a key employer across the region. Welsh has worked with the Solidarity Center, an international labor rights organization based in Washington, D.C., with operations in 60 countries, for about two decades. He is a former country director in Indonesia, Malaysia, Cambodia, and Bangladesh.

A conversation about the crisis of integrity with journalist Huw Watkin.Tragedy and major events have dominated headlines across Southeast Asia and beyond in recent months, including the civil war and earthquake in Myanmar, half-century commemorations marking the fall of Indochina to communism, and elections in Australia and Singapore. Among the headline writers was veteran correspondent Huw Watkin, who began his career in journalism in Australia in the mid-1980s before moving to Asia where, over the course of three decades, he lived and worked in Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Hong Kong. He is also the principal of Drakon Associates, a research and investigation consultancy focusing on the Asia Pacific. Now based in Australia, he continues to travel widely and writes about a range of subjects and issues from across the region. Watkin returns to Beyond the Mekong for a conversation with The Diplomat’s Luke Hunt after they both traveled through Cambodia, Vietnam, and Thailand. He says the crisis of integrity, which he spoke about at length during a previous podcast, has escalated in the West with the return to office of U.S. President Donald Trump, but this has provoked a backlash, evident at recent elections in Australia and Canada. Rapidly developing nations in Southeast Asia, like Vietnam and Thailand, are also in focus with Asian and Western countries like Australia looking to bolster alternative trade destinations that bypass the U.S., as Trump imposes a new and harshly protectionist tariff regime.

A conversation with Cornell University's Magnus Fiskesjo.[caption id="attachment_286625" align="alignright" width="301"] Magnus Fiskesjö, a lecturer in the Department of Anthropology at Cornell University. (Photo Supplied)[/caption] In late February, Thailand ignored international pleas for mercy and secretly deported at least 40 Uyghurs to China, prompting accusations that Bangkok had bowed to pressure from Beijing and eliciting an angry response from Washington. Their deportation ended 11 years of “inhumane” detention in Bangkok and dashed any hopes for political asylum and a fresh life abroad, which had reportedly been offered by several Western countries. The deportation was seen as a major embarrassment for Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, who had previously promised to adhere to international human rights law. It was a diplomatic slap in the face for U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who had urged Thailand not to deport the Uyghurs. Magnus Fiskesjö is a lecturer in the Department of Anthropology at Cornell University in New York and has followed the plight of the Uyghurs for many years – and since their deportation in the early hours of February 27. He spoke with The Diplomat’s Luke Hunt about how the Thais have used a Chinese-backed crackdown on criminal syndicates, who are still operating scam centers near their borders with Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar, to sneak the Uyghurs onto chartered flights destined for China Fiskesjö was educated in his native Sweden and at the University of Chicago, where he received a joint PhD in Anthropology and East Asian Languages and Civilizations in 2000. He previously worked at Sweden's embassies in Beijing and Tokyo, and served as director of the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities in Stockholm. Since 2005, he has taught anthropology and Asian studies at Cornell. His research involves political anthropology, ethnic relations, and genocide, as well as archaeology and repatriation issues, mostly in East and Southeast Asia. He has authored several books, including "Stories from an Ancient Land," on the Wa people of the China-Myanmar frontier.

A conversation with author Will Chickering.[caption id="attachment_286232" align="alignright" width="300"] William Chickering, the author of "A War of Their Own." (Photo Supplied)[/caption] In 1967, during the Vietnam War, William Chickering commanded a Mike Force battalion of Montagnards, highland tribesmen who were also members of a secret army, FULRO, the Front unifié de lutte des races opprimée. Known in English as the United Front for the Liberation of Oppressed Races, these hilltribe insurgents waged their own war of independence against North and South Vietnam, one that continued long after the fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975. Montagnards, or Dega, a collective of term for the ethnic minorities of the Central Highlands, formed a fierce alliance with Chams to rid the highlands of Vietnamese of all political persuasions, who they viewed as colonialists. At one point it was believed that the Montagnards could determine the outcome of the war. As the 50th anniversary of the fall of Indochina to communism approaches, Chickering spoke with The Diplomat’s Luke Hunt, about his new book: "A War of Their Own: FULRO: The Other National Liberation Front, Vietnam 1955–75." He also speaks about his time in the military, his quest to understand FULRO in the decades since and the rise of ethno-nationalism among the culturally and linguistically distinct Dega, which include the Jarai, Rade, Bahnar, Koho, Mong, and Stieng, who wanted a country of their own. In their struggle, an important role was played by the Civilian Irregular Defense Group, a program that began in late 1961 under the direction of the CIA and U.S. Special Forces.

A conversation with director Don Millar.From remote Cambodian villages to the world of elite art collectors and galleries in New York and London, the new film "Loot: A Story of Crime & Redemption" documents the theft of artifacts known as "blood antiquities" from in and around the temple ruins of Angkor Wat and Koh Ker during Cambodia's civil war. Director Don Millar spoke with The Diplomat’s Luke Hunt about a documentary that was three years in the making, after its screening at the 14th Cambodian International Film Festival in Phnom Penh. He credits people like American lawyer Tess Davis for pursuing the thieves and galleries who acquired Khmer artifacts and takes a deep dive into the life of British “collector” Doug Latchford, who was wanted for looting and trafficking by the United States before he died in 2020. Latchford, a muscleman who liked to be seen with the bodybuilders he oversaw as president of the Thailand Bodybuilding and Physique Sports Association, also took an intense dislike to anyone who challenged his motives. "Loot" documents how Latchford paid destitute locals a paltry sum to dismantle and deliver thousand-year-old stone carvings and statues of religious deities, before shipping them to Western galleries and auction houses, where they sold for millions of dollars. For Millar, it was a story that began with the Pandora Papers, produced by the Consortium of Investigative Journalists, which tied dozens of relics to Latchford and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, among other prominent institutions. "Loot" then follows U.S. law enforcement officers and the Cambodians who, as children and young men, were pressured and duped by Latchford, and their relentless quest to secure the return of these priceless statues back to Cambodia where a dedicated museum is set to be established.

A conversation with academic and researcher Bradley Murg.[caption id="attachment_284703" align="alignright" width="300"] Photo by Luke Hunt.[/caption] By most definitions, Myanmar is a failed state. The military has lost control of its borders, it has absolute control over just 15 percent of the country and can not ensure supplies of food and water to the population nor provide healthcare or education across most of the country. A recent pre-election census could only cover about half the population. It was Tom Andrews, the U.N.’s special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, who first raised the prospect that Myanmar was a failed state, just over two years ago. Bradley Murg, a political scientist and affiliate fellow with the Pacific Forum, picks up where Andrews left off, noting that it is Max Weber, the German sociologist, and his concept of a state's “monopoly of violence” that remains key in understanding failed states. A “monopoly of violence” is the idea that the state is the sole legitimate user of physical force within a territory and where this monopoly collapses, chaos follows. A four-year civil war has shown the military in Myanmar lacks that characteristic as well. Yet, junta chief Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing still plans to hold elections by January, with the tepid support from some ASEAN neighbors, and China and Russia, lending some legitimacy to the military regime. Murg spoke with The Diplomat’s Luke Hunt about failed states and the planned elections but he is mindful that the Trump administration has not laid out its foreign policy objectives for the resource rich country – and what Washington decides could impact the course of events.

A conversation with James Gomez from the Asia Centre.James Gomez, a political scientist and regional director of the Asia Centre, was recently guest editor for a special edition of the Kyoto Review of Southeast Asia, examining the critical challenges facing regional democracies. Entitled “Eroding Electoral Integrity: Reasons for Democratic Backsliding in Southeast Asia,” the issue focuses on Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, and Myanmar, where elections were held between 2020 and 2024. Gomez says that control over populations is the overriding factor for many governments, which simply have little regard for the popular vote, but they are dependent on economic growth and raising standards of living, which is proving difficult. Gomez spoke with The Diplomat’s Luke Hunt about the report and its case studies, which provide insights into how ruling elites have actively worked to reshape electoral systems and institutions to preserve their dominance – resulting in democratic regression across Southeast Asia. The report found that elections will increasingly revolve around information campaigns based on misinformation and disinformation, where political parties or coalitions in power and government are responsible for disseminating fake news about their opponents. Moving forward, Gomez says electorates are likely to witness increased online manipulation in the run-up, during and after elections in the form of foreign interference. He also speaks about the plight of youths and university systems that are not delivering promised jobs, an overreliance on tourism, a hand-out mentality for the poor and the heavy-handed attitudes of ruling elites when they respond to complaints from their people. The Kyoto Review of Southeast Asia is published in collaboration with the Centre for Southeast Asian Studies at Kyoto University.

Cracking down on the human traffickers; will Rakhine fall to the AA?Paul Greening works as a political analyst and a specialist consultant covering the conflict in Myanmar from his base in Mae Sot on the Thai border and is a regular guest with Beyond the Mekong, sharing his insights into the troubled country. He spoke with The Diplomat’s Luke Hunt about Thailand’s crackdown on criminal syndicates who are running the human trafficking networks just across the border and the prospects for Myanmar’s embattled military rulers in western Rakhine state. The crackdown enabled hundreds of people to be repatriated home over the weekend, among them, 84 Indonesians were flown to Jakarta from Bangkok while 12 Malaysians and 119 Thais were repatriated home out of Cambodia. A deal to repatriate another 5,000 Chinese at the rate of 1,000 a week over the next five weeks has also been struck, at a meeting between Thai, Chinese and Myanmar junta officials over the weekend. Meanwhile, nearly all of Rakhine State has fallen to the Arakan Army (AA), which has redeployed around the state capital, Sittwe, and Greening says a long, drawn out and bloody battle for the city with a population of about 120,000 could be in the offing. Should they succeed, the AA will be in a position to establish its own sovereign territory, thus signaling a break-up of Myanmar, with other states potentially to follow. Importantly, the AA’s relationship with the National Unity Government (NUG) is far from perfect and the NUG, Greening says, needs to tread carefully if it is to remain the political umbrella for the 20-odd Ethnic Armed Organizations and the People’s Defense Force at war with the junta. He also says the AA has opened talks with India over trade and with China, given the fall of Sittwe would leave the army in control of Beijing’s 771km oil and gas pipeline, which traverses the state.

Why was the environmental journalist blocked from re-entering the country that he has called home since 2019?Gerald Flynn, a British journalist and staff writer for the environmental news site Mongabay, has been banned from entering Cambodia, where he has reported on environmental issues for the last five years and spent two years of those years as president of the Overseas Press Club of Cambodia. Flynn, 33, left Cambodia via Siem Reap International Airport in the northwest on January 2 when immigration officials told him that he had entered the country on a “fake” visa. On January 5, he attempted to return but was denied entry and told that his name had been added to a blacklist on November 25, shortly after he appeared in a France24 documentary that was critical of the government’s environmental policies. Covering the environment is a sensitive issue in Cambodia, more so since the Cambodia Daily was closed in 2017 and the Phnom Penh Post sold off to government friendly interests the following year, due to tax disputes. In July, a Cambodian court sentenced 10 Mother Nature environmental activists to lengthy prison terms. In December, a Cambodian journalist who covered illegal logging was shot and died two days later from his wounds. Flynn, who holds a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature and a Masters in International Relations from the University of Reading in the U.K., spoke with The Diplomat’s Luke Hunt about his ordeal and the issues confronting the journalists who cover Cambodia.