Manila has accused Chinese military vessels of engaging in "dangerous manoeuvres, including ramming and towing" a Philippine ship in an effort to disrupt a "routine" resupply mission to an outpost on Second Thomas Shoal (known to the Philippines as Ayungin Shoal) in the the disputed Spratly Islands (known to the Philippines as the Kalayaan Islands) June 17. By Philippine media accounts, the craft was fired upon with water cannon and boarded by Chinese troops, with several Filipino soldiers injured in the ensuing confrontation. (SCMP, Nikkei Asia, Inquirer, GMA)

Burmese junta soldiers reportedly killed at least 75 civilians in an attack last week on a village in Rakhine state, where the regime is facing a fierce insurgency by the rebel Arakan Army (AA). The AA said in a statement June 2 that it has a list of 53 victims, including two teenagers and five women. Over 100 soldiers entered Byian Phyu, near state capital Sittwe (formerly Akyab), at noon on May 29, forcing residents into a communal area in the center of the village, where scores of were summarily gunned down, survivors said. (Irrawady)

Twenty-eight non-governmental organizations representing Burma's Rohingya Muslim minority issued a joint statement May 22 warning of the risk of a new "genocide" and urging the international community to take action. The NGOs, including the Free Rohingya Coalition and Burmese Rohingya Organization UK (BROUK), said that this time the threat comes from the Arakan Army, a predominantly Buddhist ethnic armed group that is waging an insurgency against the ruling junta. According to the statement, the Arakan Army has ordered Rohingya residents to evacuate the town of Buthidaung, Rakhine state, where many internally displaced during the 2017 genocide carried out by the Burmese armed forces have taken refuge. The evacuation order is being backed up by a campaign of threats, violence, and arson. (Anadolu Agency, TNH)

The Karen National Union (KNU) said April 12 that it will establish its own administrative mechanism in territory recently captured from Burma's military in and around the critical trade hub of Myawaddy, on the border with Thailand. The KNU has several departments in its governance structure, including those for health, education, foreign affairs and defense, in territories it controls in seven districts across southeastern Burma, including in Karen (Kayin) and Mon states and Bago and Tanintharyi regions. The junta has lost control of several towns on the border with China to other rebel armies in recent months, but the loss of Myawaddy is a special blow, as it is the transfer point for most of Burma's overland trade with Thailand. (Myanmar Now)

Vietnam announced on March 7 that it has listed two pro-separatist Montagnard groups based in the US as "terrorist organizations." The term Montagnard refers to various highland ethnic minorities, also collectively known as the Dega, that are distinct from the country's majority Viet population. Under the "terrorist" designation, anyone found by Vietnamese authorities to have engaged with or aided the organizations may face criminal charges.

The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists on Feb. 16 called for the Burmese military government to investigate the killing of journalist Myat Thu Tan and prosecute the perpetrators. The journalist's remains were reportedly found buried in a bomb shelter at a military camp in the ttown of Mrauk-U in Rakhine state. The body, bearing signs of torture, was discovered along with those of six other political detainees after the camp was overrun Feb. 5 by the insurgent Arakan Army. It was determined that he had been shot and killed on Jan. 31.

Muslim separatists in Thailand's Deep South agreed in principle to an "improved" peace plan with the government on Feb. 7. The agreement, facilitated by Malaysia, follows years of abortive talks. The Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN), the main separatist organization, announced a unilateral ceasefire in 2020 in response to the COVID 19 pandemic, facilitating a new round of negotiations on greater autonomy for the region. More than 7,000 people have been killed in 20 years of intermittent fighting between government forces and separatists in the country's three southernmost provinces of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat, whose populations are overwhelmingly Malay Muslim. (TNH)

Burma's ruling military junta announced Jan. 31 that it has extended the country's state of emergency period for another six months. The junta previously extended the state of emergency by six months on July 31, 2023 and postponed an election it had promised to hold in August 2023. The state of emergency was first declared in the aftermath of the February 2021 coup, and has been continuously extended since then.