Reuters · Bangkok Post
Myanmar military offensive targets land for Russia-backed Dawei port project
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Myanmar's military has deployed hundreds of troops to forcibly clear areas marked for a Russia-backed special economic zone in the country's south, burning villages and sealing off surrounding tracts of land, according to resistance fighters and a local activist with direct knowledge.
Key facts
- Myanmar's military has deployed hundreds of troops to forcibly clear areas marked for a Russia-backed special economic zone in the country's south, burning villages and sealing off surrounding tracts of land, according to resistance
- The offensive around the Dawei Special Economic Zone (SEZ) — that includes a planned deep-sea port and power plant on the Andaman Sea — is the clearest sign yet that Myanmar's military-backed government is willing to use force to revive a
- The Dawei push reflects a broader strategy by the military to reclaim strategic territory and border zones it lost to opposition groups since a 2021 coup, which triggered a civil war that has killed some 100,000 people and displaced over
- Originally launched in 2008 as a joint venture with Thailand, the project aimed to facilitate trade between Southeast Asian countries and West and East Asia
- But work on the Dawei SEZ stalled in 2013 due to local opposition and funding shortages
- In January 2021, just weeks before the coup, the committee overseeing the SEZ said it had moved to terminate 2015-2016 agreements for nine projects in the initial construction phase.
Summary
The offensive around the Dawei Special Economic Zone (SEZ) — that includes a planned deep-sea port and power plant on the Andaman Sea — is the clearest sign yet that Myanmar's military-backed government is willing to use force to revive a project touted as a strategic alternative to the Strait of Malacca.
The push also coincides with a diplomatic charm offensive: junta chief-turned-President Min Aung Hlaing pitched Dawei as a potential gateway to South and West Asia during a landmark visit to Thailand this month and discussed the project again this week in talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.