Rubio flags Chinese ‘leverage’ over Myanmar
Testifying before a U.S. House panel, Secretary of State Marco Rubio has complained that China “hold[s] a tremendous amount of leverage” over Myanmar. He was responding to a question from Senator Mitch McConnell about how Washington plans to counter Beijing’s influence.
Rubio admitted that Myanmar has been “a hard nut to crack,” citing the regime’a brutality and China’s entrenched influence as obstacles to U.S. engagement. He said only “baby steps” might shift the dynamic, though Washington would prefer to deal with a democratically elected government free of foreign influence.
His remarks come as Beijing pushes to expand Belt and Road projects through Myanmar, reinforcing its leverage not just diplomatically but economically while giving the regime strong support. That allows the military regime to resist international pressure to end its atrocities.
Beijing also exerts influence over ethnic armed organizations along its border with northern Shan State, pressuring them to sign truces with the regime and resource deals.
Preoccupied with its own psychodrama, Washington for its part has done little on Myanmar since the 2021 coup other than pay lip service to ASEAN’s Five-Point Consensus to end the conflict.
Wang Yi hosts Myanmar’s foreign minister in Beijing
On Friday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi welcomed his Myanmar counterpart Tin Maung Swe in Beijing, pledging continued support for the junta’s rebranded administration. And he clearly stated his price, stressing “high‑quality” Belt and Road cooperation and the steady advancement of key Chinese projects as part of the China‑Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC).
He also pressed for safety guarantees for Chinese personnel and projects in Myanmar, and Tin Maung Swe duly offered assurances.
Myanmar’s new chief diplomat, who previously served as ambassador to China, said his government is committed to strengthening high‑level exchanges, advancing the CMEC, and welcoming more Chinese investment, according to regime media. He recited a familiar mantra of support for Chinese President Xi Jinping’s so-called “four global initiatives” and the one-China policy, voicing firm opposition to Taiwan’s independence.
Also on the agenda were joint anti‑scam operations and stability along the porous border.
The talks follow Wang Yi’s April visit to Naypyitaw, where he met coup leader‑turned‑president Min Aung Hlaing to formally recognize his pseudo‑civilian administration. Min Aung Hlaing plans yet another China visit soon.
Shan activists sound alarm over toxic runoff from Chinese mines
A Chinese mining company working with the United Wa State Army (UWSA) is operating a large and toxic tungsten mine south of Loi Khi Lek mountain in Shan State’s Mong Ton Township, according to the Shan Human Rights Foundation (SHRF). Tungsten shipments to China started in February with convoys of 12‑wheel trucks via Tachileik and Mong Phyak to Mongla on the Chinese border, which is administered by the regime-allied National Democratic Alliance Army (NDAA).
SHRF reports that the mine, built since 2022 complete with roads, tunnels, and a dam on the Pak Goot stream, is already harming local communities. Children in Wan Wa village have developed skin infections from contaminated water, while rice fields downstream have been buried under sediment runoff. The diversion of stream water into the mine’s reservoir has left households and farms without reliable supplies, it added.
China dominates global tungsten production, accounting for nearly 80 percent of output in 2025. SHRF warns that the new mine strengthens Beijing’s grip on critical minerals vital to aerospace, electronics, and defense industries, while embedding its influence deeper in Myanmar’s conflict‑ridden borderlands. Runoff from the mine threatens to pollute the Jawd and Salween rivers.
Thai activists confront China over mining pollution
Hundreds of participants in the Peace Walk for Rivers arrived in Chiang Rai on Friday, holding talks with Thai authorities after marching 68 km from Chiang Mai to raise awareness of contamination of six transboundary rivers by mining in Myanmar. The march coincides with World Environment Day and has drawn monks, civic leaders and conservation groups demanding stronger government action.
The march comes just days after the Chinese Embassy in Bangkok claimed that water quality in affected rivers “generally meets safety standards.” Far from easing concerns, the remarks triggered a backlash from Thai civil society and academics, who pointed to repeated findings by Thailand’s Pollution Control Department of arsenic, lead and cadmium exceeding hazardous thresholds in the Kok, Sai, Ruak and Mekong rivers.
Local networks accuse Chinese‑backed rare earth and gold mines in Myanmar’s Shan State of discharging untreated chemicals directly into river channels. Thai officials have identified dozens of mining sites in UWSA and regime‑controlled territories whose ore shipments flow into China. Sediment samples in the Golden Triangle show arsenic concentrations up to nine times above danger levels, threatening ecosystems and livelihoods.
Regional campaign targets drug trafficking routes across Mekong
China, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam will launch a three‑month anti‑drug campaign on June 15. The operation, proposed during talks in Hanoi this week by Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security, will run until Sept. 15 and involve coordinated efforts by the four countries’ security ministries, according to The Star.
It includes tighter controls at border areas, gates and transport routes by land, river, sea and air. The four sides agreed to conduct joint investigations into trafficking networks, chase suspects across borders, and deploy liaison officers in cross‑border cases. Businesses importing or exporting precursor chemicals will face stricter monitoring to prevent diversion of their goods into illicit drug production.
The campaign will cover border provinces as well as other drug‑crime hotspots. Synthetic drug seizures in East and Southeast Asia rose 18 percent last year, with the Golden Triangle remaining a major source of narcotics, says the UN Office on Drugs and Crime.
Long notorious as a hub for opium and heroin production, the Golden Triangle has in recent years also become a center for online scam operations.
Compiled by Thurein Lynn
