About me Research Engagement Publication

Talks, Events, and Webinars

Invited to share my insights on Myanmar by various institutions, including Yale University, the East-West Center, the Stimson Center, the University of Hong Kong, the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, and the ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute. 

Kyoto University •

Special Seminar by Kyaw Hsan Hlaing: “Forging Rebel Alliances: How Arakan Army Expanded Across Myanmar” | Center for Southeast Asian Studies Kyoto University

Forging Rebel Alliances: How Arakan Army Expanded Across Myanmar

Kyaw Hsan Hlaing (Ph.D. student, Cornell University)

Over the past 16 years, the United League of Arakan/Arakan Army (ULA/AA) has evolved from a marginal insurgent group of 26 fighters in KIA-held territory to a dominant force with over 50,000 troops and control over 90% of Rakhine State. This transformation marks one of the most significant insurgent ascents in contemporary Myanmar. Unlike earlier Arakanese movements, the ULA/AA...
ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute •

Webinar on “Operation 1027 and Its Broader Implications for Myanmar”

In this webinar, three experts discussed the unfolding effects of Operation 1027, a major offensive launched by the Three Brotherhood Alliance (3BHA), which comprises the Myanmar National Democratic Army (MNDAA), the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), and the Arakan Army (AA), and constituting one of the most significant challenges confronting the State Administration Council (SAC) regime in Myanmar since the 2021 coup.

Tuesday, 28 November 2023 – The Myanmar Studies Programme at ISEAS
ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute •

Operation 1027 and Its Broader Implications for Myanmar

On 27 October, the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) and its allies launched a surprise offensive against the State Administration Council (SAC) military regime in Myanmar. The speed and scale of Operation 1027 has resulted in significant losses for the Myanmar army. Operation 1027 alliance troops have taken control of army bases, and towns along key trade routes with China. Resistance forces across Myanmar, from Kayah and Kayin in the South to Rakhine in the West, have also launched.
Stimson Center •

Operation 1027: Implications for the Military Junta in Myanmar •

On October 27, 2023, the Three Brotherhood Alliance launched Operation 1027 to retake Kokang and elsewhere, signifying the largest movement in northern Myanmar since the February 2021 coup. The offensive action in Shan State has captured the attention of Myanmar observers globally, as well as concerned neighboring countries, like China. Join us for a conversation between a group of Myanmar experts on the significance and developing implications of this operation for the Myanmar junta.
ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute •

Webinar on “Myanmar’s Humanitarian Challenges in 2023”

Myanmar continues to face daunting humanitarian challenges in 2023. The military coup in 2021 compounded humanitarian needs which arose prior to and during the pandemic. Cyclone Mocha in May 2023 added to mounting humanitarian needs. In this webinar, four speakers with policy and/or research experience shared their assessments of Myanmar’s humanitarian challenges and responses in 2023.

Tuesday, 20 June 2023 – The ISEAS Myanmar Studies Programme invited former Ambassador Robert Chua, Dr Alistair
Stimson Center •

The Arakan Army & the Resistance Movement in Myanmar • Stimson Center

February 1 marked the second anniversary of the 2021 military coup in Myanmar. As the junta continues to employ violent assaults against the population, the role of ethnic armed organizations remains crucial in advancing the resistance movement. In Rakhine State, the Arakan Army represents the largest and most consequential ethnic armed group in the region, with significant ability to sway the movement’s future development.
East-West Center | www.eastwestcenter.org •

Two Years After the Coup: Media in Myanmar

Since the military-led coup in Myanmar on February 1, 2022, the country has nose-dived into political and economic turmoil yet again. In addition to daily attacks against its own people, the junta has systematically increased surveillance of its citizens and clamped down on freedom of movement and speech, effectively curtailing the past decade’s democratic reforms and the promising media landscape. Myanmar journalists are no strangers to the extreme dangers of reporting on their country, the sec
ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute •

Webinar on "Myanmar Twenty-Two Months After The Coup"

In this webinar, four experts offered their thoughts on the challenges of Myanmar’s multidimensional crisis, and prevailing sentiments towards those challenges. One of the four experts, serving as discussant, also contributed her assessment of the rapidly changing political landscape within Myanmar, access to humanitarian aid and responses from the regional partners to the Myanmar crisis.

5 December 2022, Monday – The ISEAS Myanmar Studies Programme convened a webinar under Chatham House Rule i
US Campaign for Burma, Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, and MIRR Alliance •

The Right to Seek Safety: Rakhine State

The Right to Seek Safety Series! Learn how #Rakhine is impacted by the junta's violence.

Join US Campaign for Burma, Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, and MIRR Alliance for a discussion of the experiences of those displaced since the coup, with a special focus on Rakhine state. Learn more about the ongoing violence against citizens in Burma, as well as the current challenges of IDPs and refugees. This is Part V of the Right to Seek Safety Series.

Dec 10, 2022 10:00 AM in Eastern Time (US and Canada)

RSVP - https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Zofvfrn4QJiGCogRWCV1_A
Yale University •

Reporting during the world’s longest internet shutdown and the post-military coup in Burma | Council On Southeast Asia Studies at Yale

In this event, journalist Kyaw Hsan Hlaing will share his first hand experiences in reporting and human rights activism during the last two years of NLD’s term, gained while covering the civil war between the Arakan Army, an ethnic armed group, and the Burma military under the world’s longest internet shutdown, imposed by the civilian government in his native state. Since the military coup on 1st February last year, his firsthand reporting also offers a window in public protests, the civil disob.....
American University School of International Service •

Ongoing Conflict in Myanmar After the coup and How International Community and ASEAN should Engage

After almost two years since the Feb 2021 coup, this is the time the international community and ASEAN really help the people of Myanmar instead of issuing another round of empty statements on paper.

Please join us on a panel featuring Hla Hpone "Jack" Myint, Kyaw Hsan Hlaing and Prof. Amitav Acharya discussing the ongoing conflicts in Myanmar after the coup and how international community and ASEAN should engage, moderated by me at American University School of International Service.