Myanmar military clears Dawei land for Russia-backed port
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- Myanmar military deployed hundreds of troops to southern Tanintharyi Region from July, conducting area-clearance operations around the Dawei SEZ, burning homes and sealing off surrounding land.
- ACLED reported that about 700 soldiers advanced into relevant areas after a late-June visit by armed forces deputy chief Kyaw Swar Lin, who urged troops to protect strategic projects such as Dawei.
- MAGGA Initiative said three aid workers were detained and killed after encountering a military column in Yebyu Township on July 9; Reuters could not independently verify the account.
- Min Aung Hlaing promoted Dawei as a gateway to South and West Asia during an August visit to Thailand and discussed the project with Vladimir Putin in Moscow this week.
- Dawei SEZ, launched in 2008 as a Thai joint venture, stalled in 2013 amid local opposition and funding shortages; its committee moved in January 2021 to terminate nine initial projects.
- Russia is being presented as a potential beneficiary through greater South-east Asian market access, but a source said Russian investment would have to connect to Thailand for the project to make sense.
Why it matters: The operation's immediate human cost is borne by local communities: homes in at least three villages were burned, and three aid workers were killed in a July 9 encounter Reuters could not independently verify. The project is presented as giving Russia greater South-east Asian market access, but a source said investment must connect to Thailand for it to make sense.
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