Myanmar junta

Marlar Than Htaik, the permanent secretary of the junta's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is attending this week's two-day retreat in Laos.

The lakeside villa, where Aung San Suu Kyi spent more than 15 years under house arrest, will go under the hammer on March 20.

Increasingly, the junta has no one to lean on except for a distracted Russia.

Current trends suggest Myanmar’s military regime will be toppled the same way it came to power: through the use of force.

The development comes at a time that the junta is struggling with a forced recruitment campaign.

If confirmed, the fall of the capital of the Kokang Self-Administered Zone would mark a significant defeat for the military junta that seized power in February 2021.

The shadow government has promised to continue the warm partnership with Beijing maintained by the ousted NLD government.

A spokesperson for China's Foreign Ministry hailed the "positive results" of the talks, but a lasting peace is unlikely.

The arrest of the previously "untouchable" Ye Htut hints at internal struggles within the junta as it suffers continued battlefield reverses.

The dramatic events of the past month reflect the junta's waning legitimacy, but the battle for the country's future is only just beginning.

As the collapse of the military junta begins to seem possible, attention turns to what might be established in its place.

Growing political turbulence, especially in the northern part of Shan State, has drastically narrowed the chances of progress on a host of large-scale projects.