Thai woman is in custody in connection with investigation after man was reportedly found dead at a hotel in Yangon

A US diplomat has been found dead in Myanmar’s largest city, and members of the diplomatic community in Yangon say a Thai woman has been detained by police in connection with the investigation.

US officials in Thailand and the US embassy in Myanmar referred questions on the case to the state department, which confirmed the “death of a US government employee” assigned to the embassy in Yangon, but gave no other details.

On April 17, the government of Myanmar (formerly Burma) announced a reduction in the 27-year prison sentence imposed on Aung San Suu Kyi, the political leader deposed in the 2021 coup and jailed ever since. After the announcement, rumors began circulating about a possible transfer, so that she could serve the remainder of her sentence under house arrest.

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Myanmar’s coup-commander turned President Min Aung Hlaing touched down in China on Monday for talks with Xi Jinping, his first visit since taking over as civilian leader after Beijing-backed elections rejected by democracy monitors.

Min Aung Hlaing is hoping to expand trade and security ties with China, a rare enduring partner for Myanmar after his 2021 coup ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi and diplomatically isolated the country on the world stage.

Relations have frayed in recent years over mushrooming internet scam centres along the countries’ shared border areas which both enlist and target Chinese citizens in lucrative cryptocurrency fraud, analysts say.

China has emerged as a key power-broker in the civil war sparked by the coup — variously backing the military, rebels and truces between them according to its security and economic interests, analysts say.

The one-party state also vocally backed recent polls excluding Suu Kyi’s party, punishing dissent with prison time and returning a walk-over win for pro-military MPs — who elected Min Aung Hlaing as president.

Democracy watchdogs described the transition as a charade to launder the reputation of the leadership, campaigning to recover from the pariah status many nations branded it with since the putsch.

Min Aung Hlaing landed in China to a red carpet welcome, according to images shared by his office, and spent the first hours of his five-day trip touring Beijing Aerospace City — the centre of China’s space programme.

Supply and demand

During his half-decade ruling Myanmar as military chief, Min Aung Hlaing made trips to China only for regional summits — meeting Beijing officials on the sidelines.

China hopes his first visit as civilian president will deepen “comprehensive strategic cooperation”, foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian told reporters on Friday.

In addition to Xi, Min Aung Hlaing is also set to meet Chinese Premier Li Qiang and top legislator Zhao Leji.

Beijing is a key provider of materiel to the Myanmar military and has also brokered a pair of landmark truces with two of the most powerful rebel factions that once challenged it in the borderlands with China.

While Myanmar has been massively impoverished by the civil war, it has also emerged as a major global supplier of mined rare earth minerals — vital for China’s production of renewable energy technology.

The first bill announced by Myanmar’s new crop of lawmakers proposes the death penalty for those who detain or violently coerce victims into working in scam centres, signalling the country’s intention to crack down.

Attention has also been drawn to the bilateral relationship between Myanmar and China by Beijing’s detention of a US scholar who studies Myanmar and stands accused of spying.

Min Zin, founder of the Institute for Strategy and Policy Myanmar (ISP-M), “has been subjected to criminal compulsory measures”, foreign ministry spokesman Lin told reporters on Friday.

Authorities are holding him “on suspicion of engaging in espionage activities that endanger China’s national security”, Lin said.

Min Zin was detained in the capital of China’s border province of Yunnan, a person with professional ties to the ISP-M told AFP anonymously because of the case’s sensitivity.

Arrest of Min Zin, who writes about Myanmar and Chinese foreign policy, comes just month after Trump visit to Beijing

China has arrested a US scholar who writes about Myanmar and Chinese foreign policy on suspicion of spying.

Min Zin was suspected of “engaging in espionage activities that endanger China’s national security,” China’s ministry of foreign affairs spokesperson, Lin Jian, said on Friday.

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Please be aware... Photos are purely for entertainment. I am no expert. Titles are from recognition - what I was told - or a quick search. Polite comments or corrections are welcome.

China said Friday it was holding an American citizen accused of espionage, identifying the man as a political analyst at a policy think tank focusing on neighbouring Myanmar.

Min Zin — a founder of the Institute for Strategy and Policy Myanmar (ISP-M) — “has been subjected to criminal compulsory measures”, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian told a news briefing.

Authorities are holding him “on suspicion of engaging in espionage activities that endanger China’s national security”, he said, without providing further details.

The ISP-M researches the political, resource and conflict dynamics of Myanmar, which was plunged into civil war by a 2021 coup.

Some of their publications detail China’s influence in the borderlands of Myanmar, where Beijing is accused of supporting armed factions which suit its national interests.

It is not clear whether Min Zin was conducting research at the time he was held by Chinese authorities.

A person with professional ties to ISP-M, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the case, told AFP Min Zin was arrested on June 3 at Kunming airport in Yunnan province, which borders Myanmar.

“He went there to attend a meeting,” said another person with a close relationship to the detained academic, who also spoke on condition of anonymity.

Chinese authorities said the US consulate in Guangzhou had been notified of the case.

“His family and colleagues are following up with the consulate office there,” the second source said. “I know his family is worried.”

Neither the US State Department nor the ISP-M have responded to a request for comment.

The ISP-M is based in the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai, a hub for political exiles from Myanmar since the coup ousted the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi.

Analysts, including those at the ISP-M, say China has intermittently backed both the military and rebels in the civil war according to its varying economic and security interests.

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Cases reported in 83 countries, with at least 10,600 students and staff killed, injured, abducted or arrested, GCPEA says

Attacks on education globally have surged by 40% with more than 8,556 recorded incidents and 10,600 students and staff killed, injured, abducted, arrested or otherwise harmed in 2024 and 2025, according to new research.

Attacks were reported in 83 countries, with the highest incidences recorded in Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Haiti, Palestine and Ukraine.