39. Chinese Spy Bases on Myanmar’s Great Coco Island? Here We Go Again (1 May 2023)

Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter i
2. Dedication v
3. Contents vii
4. Acronyms and Abbreviations xi
5. Glossary xv
6. Geographical Names xix
7. Foreword xxi
8. Introduction xxiii
9. Acknowledgements xxix
10. Protocols and Politics xxxii
11. PART I: POLITICAL AND SECURITY ISSUES
12. Introduction 1
13. 1. Chinese Whispers: The Great Coco Island Mystery 5
14. 2. Burma’s Mythical Isles (November–December 2008) 9
15. 3. Burma and North Korea: Smoke or Fire? (24 August 2009) 21
16. 4. Burma, North Korea and the Nuclear Question (18 May 2010) 33
17. 5. Burma’s Armed Forces: Does Size Matter? (17 September 2010) 37
18. 6. Myanmar’s Nuclear Ambitions (October–November 2010) 40
19. 7. Thein Sein as Myanmar’s Gorbachev (19 October 2011) 46
20. 8. A Statue in Naypyidaw: Exploring Motifs and Meanings (8 May 2012) 49
21. 9. Burma: Pawn, Pivot, Pariah … and Now Partner (18 April 2013) 54
22. 10. The Realities of Power in Myanmar (16 November 2015) 62
23. 11. Instability in Myanmar Could Test New Government’s Democratic Policies (14 January 2016) 67
24. 12. Myanmar’s Armed Forces: Obstacle or Ally for Reform? (20 January 2016) 71
25. 13. Myanmar Foreign Policy under Aung San Suu Kyi (28 March 2016) 76
26. 14. The Lady and Authoritarianism in Myanmar (29 March 2016) 78
27. 15. Will Obama’s Myanmar Legacy Survive under Trump? (3 December 2016) 82
28. 16. Why Myanmar’s Military Is Not Planning a Coup (8 May 2017) 87
29. 17. Aung San Suu Kyi and the Tatmadaw (3 June 2017) 92
30. 18. Fallen Idol: Aung San Suu Kyi and the Politics of Personality (12 September 2017) 95
31. 19. Myanmar’s Intelligence State (20 September 2018) 118
32. 20. Review of Hans-Bernd Zollner and Rodion Ebbighausen, The Daughter: A Political Biography of Aung San Suu Kyi (16 November 2018) 122
33. 21. The Coup in Myanmar—What Do We Know? (3 February 2021) 130
34. 22. Myanmar’s Coup Will Test the Loyalty of the Security Forces (19 February 2021) 134
35. 23. Myanmar’s Personalized Politics (11 March 2021) 138
36. 24. The Upward Spiral of Violence in Myanmar (24 March 2021) 143
37. 25. Myanmar and the Lessons of History (23 April 2021) 148
38. 26. Myanmar and a New Kind of Civil War (13 May 2021) 153
39. 27. Aung San Suu Kyi’s Uncertain Fate (13 May 2021) 157
40. 28. Myanmar, Terrorism and the Demands of International Politics (15 June 2021) 161
41. 29. Myanmar: No Light on the Horizon (15 July 2021) 166
42. 30. Could Defections Threaten the Survival of Myanmar’s Military Regime? (18 October 2021) 172
43. 31. If Pushed Far Enough, Would Myanmar Leave ASEAN? (20 October 2021) 178
44. 32. Myanmar’s Annus Horribilis (9 December 2021) 182
45. 33. The Competing Public Commentary on Myanmar (31 January 2022) 187
46. 34. Myanmar’s Military Numbers (17 February 2022) 192
47. 35. A No-Fly Zone Won’t Fly in Myanmar (19 February 2022) 197
48. 36. Is World Opinion Shifting on Lethal Aid to Myanmar’s Opposition Movement? (22 March 2022) 201
49. 37. Myanmar’s Civil War and the Myth of Military Victory (28 June 2022) 207
50. 38. The Executions in Myanmar: What Was the Junta Thinking? (1 August 2022) 212
51. 39. Chinese Spy Bases on Myanmar’s Great Coco Island? Here We Go Again (1 May 2023) 218
52. 40. Myanmar’s Intelligence War: The Battle of Wits and Wiles Against the Junta (30 May 2023) 222
53. 41. A Tale of Two Myanmars (15 June 2023) 227
54. 42. Has History Left Aung San Suu Kyi Behind? (18 July 2023) 233
55. 43. Are Western Intelligence Agencies “Fuelling an Armed Rebellion” in Myanmar? (10 August 2023) 237
56. 44. How Credible Are the Casualty Figures Coming out of Myanmar? (20 September 2023) 242
57. 45. Myanmar Accused of Nuclear Weapons Ambitions—Again (27 September 2023) 246
58. 46. Beware Sensational Claims About Myanmar’s Security Environment (13 October 2023) 252
59. 47. Military Manpower Has Become a Critical Factor for Myanmar’s Junta (6 December 2023) 256
60. 48. It Is Too Early to Write Off Myanmar’s Junta (16 December 2023) 263
61. PART II: HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL ISSUES
62. Introduction 269
63. 49. On the Road to Mandalay … Colonial Burma, as Seen Through Popular Western Music (Winter 2014) 273
64. 50. Rudyard Kipling and “Mandalay” (December 2014) 276
65. 51. Burma/Myanmar: Bibliographic Trends (16 February 2015) 289
66. 52. Burma and the Kipling Mystique (31 March 2015) 295
67. 53. Why Myanmar’s Rumour Mill Is Always Spinning (25 February 2016) 300
68. 54. Burma After Forty Years: Still Unlike Any Land You Know About (26 April 2016) 303
69. 55. Colonial Burma, as Seen Through Collectible Cards (11 May 2016) 335
70. 56. Colonial Burma, History and Phillumeny (24 May 2016) 340
71. 57. Colonial-Era Pulp Fiction Portrays “Technicolor” Myanmar (11 July 2016) 345
72. 58. Burma and the Comics, Part 1: Wars and Rumours of Wars (9 August 2016) 350
73. 59. Burma and the Comics, Part 2: Heroines, Heroes and Villains (10 August 2016) 355
74. 60. Myanmar, Myeik and Mythmaking (16 October 2016) 359
75. 61. Burma and the Superman Stamp (October 2016) 364
76. 62. Myanmar Bibliographies and Booklists (25 November 2016) 366
77. 63. The Wisdom in the Literature (21 March 2017) 371
78. 64. Singing in the Monsoon: Hymns in Colonial Burma (Winter 2017) 376
79. 65. Biggles in Burma: Giving Boys What They Want (27 March 2018) 395
80. 66. Graphic Novels Chart Myanmar’s History (1 April 2018) 405
81. 67. Foreigners, Fighting and Phaleristics: Military Medals in British Burma (23 December 2019) 409
82. PART III: MISCELLANEOUS MEMORIES
83. Introduction 421
84. 68. The Rats of Rangoon (29 March 2016) 423
85. 69. Journeys Without Maps in Myanmar (12 September 2016) 428
86. 70. Diplomatic Intelligence (21 June 2019) 433
87. 71. Spooked (August–October 2019) 437
88. 72. Memories of Burma’s Art Scene in the 1970s (16 August 2023) 442
89. Index 451
90. The Author 471