Executive Summary: On April 18, the infamous Rohingya militant leader Ataullah Abu Ammar Al Jununi was captured by Bangladeshi counterterrorist forces. Ataullah was formerly the head of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), a militia that played a key role in the 2017 Rohingya crisis... MORE

Executive Summary: An ultranationalist subset of Myanmar’s community of Buddhist monks have become active supporters of the military junta, offering the regime legitimacy and support in the ongoing civil war. This alliance reflects a broader pattern of authoritarian regimes weaponizing religious authorities to suppress dissent... MORE

Executive Summary: Azerbaijan and Vietnam established an official strategic partnership during General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Tô Lâm’s May 7–8 visit to Baku, signing major agreements in energy, defense, science, trade, and culture to expand bilateral cooperation. Key economic deals include energy... MORE

Executive Summary:  Russia is increasingly involved in Southeast Asia’s nuclear energy market, most recently vis-a-vis the signing of a new memorandum on the development of nuclear energy between Rosatom and Vietnam Electricity.   Once established, nuclear energy cooperation creates long-term commitments associated with power plant maintenance,... MORE

Executive Summary: Twan Mrat Naing is the leader of one of the major anti-junta ethnic factions in Myanmar, the Arakan Army (AA). Twan has pushed fairly successfully for a separate Rakhine State under his leadership, either independent or in confederation with a new national government... MORE

Executive Summary: Beijing promotes digital sovereignty in its engagements with other countries but with the caveat that it can maintain access to partner countries’ digital systems. Leaked documents from cyber contracting firm iS00N indicate a focus on One Belt One Road partner countries, targeting critical... MORE

Executive Summary: Mobinus Abu Bakar Kogoya, a guerilla fighter with the West Papua National Liberation Army–Free Papua Movement (TPNPB–OPM), was killed in an operation by the Indonesian military in April. Abu's death will likely impede TPNPB–OPM operations in the remote areas where he operated. The... MORE

Executive Summary: Nathan Bawm is a former artist and activist who transformed an organization named the Kuki-Chin National Development Organization into the present-day Kuki-Chin National Front and the Kuki-Chin National Army (KNA), an ethnic militant group that stands in opposition to a key peace accord... MORE

Executive Summary: The fall of Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister of Bangladesh, in August has presented an opportunity for Beijing to strengthen ties with the more pro-China Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh (JIB). The People’s Republic of China (PRC) aims to solidify its influence... MORE

Executive Summary: Peng Daxun leads the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), one of three major ethnic militias in Myanmar. The MNDAA, alongside the Arakan Army and Ta’ang National Liberation Front, launched a major offensive on October 27, 2023, against the forces of Myanmar’s junta,... MORE