American/Ukrainians Caught Arming Militants in Myanmar and the US Dirty War on China

March 20, 2026 (NEO - Brian Berletic) - India’s national media reported the arrest by Indian security services of US mercenary Matthew VanDyke and six Ukrainians for illegally crossing the border into neighboring Myanmar to provide military training to armed groups fighting Myanmar’s central government. 

Indian security services have also linked the suspects to “importing huge consignments of drones from Europe to Myanmar via India” for “ethnic armed groups,” matching the established pattern of US proxy war waged around the globe throughout the 21st century. 

The military support provided by groups like VanDyke’s “Sons of Liberty” and other US-linked organizations like former US Special Forces operator David Eubank’s “Free Burma Rangers,” together with overt US government funding and support for political opposition groups the US seeks to install into power, have fueled decades of conflict inside Southeast Asia’s nation of Myanmar. 

US-Backed Militants in Myanmar

VanDyke has gravitated toward US wars and proxy wars of aggression around the globe including the US war on Libya in 2011, against Syria also in 2011, and in Ukraine from 2022 onward according to Western sources like Newsweek.  

VanDyke’s recent operation in Myanmar involved not only training militants, but also equipping them with “huge consignments” of drones, indicating a significant source of funding. Because the funding is not disclosed by VanDyke’s “non-profit security contracting firm” it is very likely - as with all other aspects of Myanmar’s opposition - it is funded by the US government and simply laundered through fronts like VanDyke’s. 

Other similarly US-backed operations training and equipping militants in Myanmar include David Eubank’s “Free Burma Rangers” (FBR). US diplomatic cables made available by Wikileaks revealed Eubank regularly reports to US government representatives at the US consulate in neighboring Thailand (here, here, here, here, and here). 

While FBR poses as some sort of nongovernmental organization (NGO) which “assists ethnic resistance groups” with “humanitarian operations,” videos produced by Free Burma Rangers themselves and those by the militant groups they help train and equip, depict the organization providing military training (including weapons training), as well as FBR members themselves carrying weapons on patrol with local militants.

The political opposition these armed groups seek to install into power, the so-called “National Unity Government” (NUG) is itself a documented wholecloth creation of the US government.  

Washington’s Proxy War in Myanmar Continues Along China’s Borders

May 7, 2024 (NEO - Brian Berletic) - Overshadowed by ongoing fighting in Eastern Europe and the Middle East as well as growing tensions between the US and China, the ongoing conflict in Myanmar nonetheless constitutes a critical component of what is a larger global conflict.

Depicted by Western governments and Western media as an isolated, internal conflict between a “military dictatorship” and the forces of “democracy,” in actuality the conflict represents decades of Anglo-American attempts to reassert Western control over the former British colony.

Much of the fighting is taking place between the central government and armed ethnic groups that had at one point been a part of the British Empire’s occupation force, utilized by the US and UK during World War 2 against the Japanese, and used ever since to disrupt Myanmar’s ambitions for independence and self-determination.

Alongside these armed ethnic groups, the US has constructed a parallel political establishment, eventually installed into power through compromised elections in 2020.

In 2021, Myanmar’s military removed from power the US client regime headed by Aung San Suu Kyi, advised by literal British and Australian citizens, and supported by a collection of US government-funded and backed political organizations, media platforms, and educational institutions both within and beyond Myanmar’s borders. The US has been semi-covertly backing attempts by the ousted regime to retake power through armed violence ever since.

Psychological Warfare Aims to Break Central Government Resolve 

The fighting has continued mainly along Myanmar’s frontiers, regions that have hosted US-backed armed ethnic groups pursuing separatism for decades, but also at times and to a lesser degree, inside some of Myanmar’s urban centers.

Why the West is Whitewashing Terrorism in Vietnam and Myanmar

July 19, 2023 (Brian Berletic - New Eastern Outlook) - As US-Chinese tensions grow and as it becomes increasingly clear the US is unable to compete with China head-to-head in terms of development, trade, and investment, especially in regions along China’s periphery, the US is resorting increasingly to asymmetrical measures including political coercion, subversion, and even violence.

US military aggression and political subversion, particularly in Southeast Asia, spans many decades. Besides the Vietnam War and the related conflicts which raged across Laos, Cambodia, and even Thailand in the 20th century, more recently the United States has backed an increasingly unified regional bloc of opposition groups sometimes referred to as the “Milk Tea Alliance.”

The so-called alliance includes opposition groups promoted heavily across Western media in Myanmar, Thailand, and Hong Kong – all three of which have incorporated deadly violence on varying scales to advance both their own political ambitions as well as advance US foreign policy objectives. The US has also attempted to create similar opposition groups elsewhere in Southeast Asia, though with less success, receiving little media coverage, and thus are poorly understood by the general public if and when their violence does make headlines.

Two recent examples of terrorism in Southeast Asia highlight the enduring threat of US-backed violence in the region.

One attack was carried out by Myanmar’s opposition, a movement heavily-promoted by Western governments and the Western media. The other was carried out by extremists among a lesser-known ethnic group in Vietnam. Both attacks have been spun, whitewashed, and even justified by the Western media, and by doing so, encouraging future violence, illustrating a continued commitment by Washington to use violence and terrorism to advance its foreign policy objectives in the region versus China.

Myanmar’s “Freedom Fighters” Slaughter Singer Who Disagreed 

The BBC (is banned in Russia), in a June 8 article titled, “Lily Naing Kyaw: Killing of Myanmar singer unnerves pro-military celebrities,” in title alone, clearly is not condemning the violence. The article itself attempts to justify the actions of the terrorists who killed a singer, shot in the head, simply for opposing the US and British-sponsored opposition’s political views.

Nowhere in the article is the word terrorism used. Instead, the majority of the BBC’s article revolves around attempts to convince readers that the victim deserved to die for her “pro-military” political stance. The article also notes the chilling effect the opposition’s terrorism is having on free speech and freedom of expression among those in Myanmar supportive of the current government.

New Thai Government’s Vows Obedience to US Foreign Policy: Myanmar is First Victim

June 7, 2023 (Brian Berletic - New Eastern Outlook) - Following recent general elections in Thailand, influenced heavily by years of US interference, a pro-US proxy regime is poised to take power.

Even before officially taking office, the leadership of the victorious Move Forward Party has vowed to help pursue US foreign policy objectives both in regards to “rebalancing” Thailand away from China and back toward the West, as well as regarding US interference elsewhere in Southeast Asia, and more specifically, Myanmar.

New Thai Government and US to Aid Militants in Nextdoor Myanmar 

The Irrawaddy, a media outlet funded by the US government through the National Endowment for Democracy (NED, is recognized as an undesirable organization in Russia), in a recent article titled, “Thailand Will No Longer Be Quiet on Myanmar: Incoming Coalition,” would boldly announce this stark pivot for Thai foreign policy.

The article would claim:

Fuadi Pitsuwan, foreign affairs chief for MFP leader Pita Limjaroenrat, said the incoming government will revive Thai foreign policy to improve its image in ASEAN and alleviate Myanmar’s political crisis.

The article would note Fuadi Pitsuwan’s US education via Harvard and Georgetown University where he studied foreign service, which may explain why both he and the rest of his US-backed party have now so eagerly embraced not Thailand’s best interests, or even Southeast Asia’s or Eurasia’s best interests, but instead seek to implement US foreign policy objectives.

The article even points out Fuadi Pitsuwan and Move Forward’s desire to pivot back West despite the obvious lack of rational incentive to do so.

The article says:

He added that under the new government, Thailand will rebalance its foreign policy to restore its reputation in the international arena. Under the Prayut government, Bangkok foreign policy leaned away from western countries and more towards China.

The article continues, making it clear that Thailand’s foreign policy isn’t merely similar to Washington’s, it is Washington’s foreign policy that Thailand seeks to aid in implementing.

The article discusses Move Forward Party leader Pita Limjaroenrat’s “Myanmar policy,” noting:

Pita highlighted the importance of the Burma Act, which he said Thailand would use to “start working with the international community to make sure that we have the right amount of pressure and incentives for people to resolve their conflict”. 

Passed by US Congress last December, the Burma Act authorizes US funding of non-lethal support for resistance forces in Myanmar.

Any involvement in Myanmar’s internal political affairs is a violation international law and more specifically, the UN Charter through its protection of national sovereignty and its prohibition against foreign interference. Such involvement also violates the fundamental principles of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) which include, “non-interference in the internal affairs of one another,” and the “settlement of differences or disputes by [a] peaceful manner.” Both Thailand and Myanmar are ASEAN member states.

Not only is Washington’s “Burma Act” and Move Forward Party’s vow to assist in implementing it a violation of international law under the UN Charter and ASEAN’s fundamental principles, by providing “non-lethal aid” to what The Irrawaddy calls “resistance forces,” the US and its proxies within Move Forward will be fuelling an armed conflict.

Myanmar MiG-29 Crosses into Thai Airspace: The Rest of the Story

July 9, 2022 (Brian Berletic - New Eastern Outlook) - A recent incident involving a MiG-29 fighter aircraft from Myanmar which flew into Thai airspace triggered political fallout particularly instructive in understanding the current dynamics in both countries as well as across wider Asia.

It also gives a glimpse into the dynamics of the ongoing US-Chinese tensions that are the driving force behind much of the region’s political and military conflicts.

The Incident

The Washington Post in an article titled, “Thailand says Myanmar apologized for airspace violation,” would describe the incident claiming:

Video obtained by The Associated Press shows what appears to be a MiG-29 making several circles into Thai airspace over villages and schools before firing on the Myanmar side. Myanmar’s military has been fighting ethnic Karen guerillas on its side of the border with Thailand.

Thailand is no stranger to armed conflict approaching and even briefly crossing over into Thai territory. Myanmar has been mired in ethnic and political violence since gaining independence from the British in 1948. Clandestine arms trafficking from neighboring nations including Thailand, US-funded political organizations using neighboring nations as a base for operations, as well as refugee camps hosting militants using neighboring territory to evade Myanmar’s military means that fighting often unfolds along border regions.

The current fighting along the Thai border is part of a much wider conflict consuming Myanmar following the February 2021 takeover by the nation’s military, ousting a US-backed client regime headed by Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy (NLD) party.

Myanmar Violence: a Slow Burn US Proxy War

April 26, 2022 (Brian Berletic - New Eastern Outlook) - The ongoing violence in Myanmar may have faded into the background of global media coverage as much more intense conflict shapes up within and along Ukraine’s borders in Eastern Europe and as Washington raises the prospect of direct conflict with China in Asia. However, Myanmar’s conflict serves as a point of destabilization which may impact the wider stability of Southeast Asia and thus undermine China in a more indirect but still significant manner.

Myanmar’s Fight Against Foreign Interference

The conflict began when Myanmar’s military took power from the government of Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy (NLD) party in February 2021. While the Western media portrays this as an undemocratic military dictatorship deposing an elected government – Aung San Suu Kyi and the NLD through their collective US backing – had hijacked the nation’s electoral system.

The US National Endowment for Democracy’s (NED) webpage for Myanmar (still called by its British colonial nomenclature “Burma” by the NED) has at least 57 programs and organizations listed involving every aspect of Myanmar’s society from education and the judicial system, to media, ethnic relations, political campaigning, and supposed “human rights” advocacy groups.

US Proxy War in Myanmar Threatens China and the rest of Asia

April 25, 2022 (The New Atlas) - A deadly conflict continues to play out in Southeast Asia’s Myanmar - part of a wider US effort to destabilize, divide, and destroy nations partnered with China in pursuit of China’s encirclement and containment. 

Understanding, exposing and helping place pressure on relevant policymakers to solve this US proxy conflict is key not only to stability in Southeast Asia, but stability across all of Asia including - and especially - for China.

References: 

If US Can’t Have Myanmar, No One Will

July 21, 2021 (Joseph Thomas - NEO) - A South China Morning Post (SCMP) article citing US corporate and government institution “associates” inadvertently gave away the entire game unfolding in Southeast Asia’s Myanmar.

It is a conflict where US-backed armed opposition groups (previously depicted by the Western media as “peaceful” “pro-democracy” activists) are fighting Myanmar’s central government, police and military for control of the country. 

The conflict clearly threatens both existing Chinese investments and the future of further investment and development projects. The resulting violence benefits neither China nor Myanmar, but most certainly benefits China’s chief rival, the United States. 

Background of Myanmar’s Current Crisis 

In February of this year Myanmar’s military ousted the government of Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy (NLD) political party. While the West depicts this as a coup against a democratically elected government, Aung San Suu Kyi and her NLD were created by and for Western special interests with virtually every aspect of the party funded and supported by US and British government money and with Suu Kyi herself maintaining a entourage of foreign advisors. 

The purpose of installing a US client regime in power in Myanmar was part of a much wider long-standing effort to encircle and contain China. Myanmar shares a border with China and counts China as its largest and most important trade partner. For Beijing, Myanmar is a crucial partner in extending its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) with pipelines, ports, and roads all aready in use or under construction. 

Myanmar’s Crisis Follows Predictable ‘Libya Model’ Pattern

July 6, 2021 (Joseph Thomas - NEO) - All too predictably, the crisis in Myanmar has rapidly spiralled out of control with what we were told were “peaceful” “pro-democracy” protesters transforming into heavily armed militants fighting Myanmar's central government, its police force and its armed forces with war weapons. 

Of course, the protests were never peaceful. The Western media only claimed as much to then depict subsequent security operations against what were in fact very violent protests and a nascent militancy as “brutal repression” and as a means to justify more direct Western intervention in a political crisis already driven by decades of Western interference. 

But just as was the case in similarly US-engineered conflicts in Libya and Syria in 2011, the ability to cover up the violence of the opposition, their use of war weapons and terrorism, as well as their carrying out of atrocities has become impossible to conceal. 

A June 2, 2021 Reuters article titled, “Boycott and bombings mar Myanmar's new school year,” would note that growing armed attacks from the opposition prompted security forces to stand guard at schools and bring students “under armed escort from their homes.” 

The article noted that teachers were also in fear for their safety, going to school in “normal clothing” and then changing into their government uniforms “only inside the school.” 

Despite admitting to a “a series of bombings” targeting educational institutions across Myanmar, Reuters deliberately attempts to downplay the terrorism and add ambiguity when attributing who is carrying out the terrorism.

However, opposition media inside Myanmar including US government-funded ‘Myanmar Now,’ have quoted leaders of armed opposition groups admitting to their terror campaign against schools and other public facilities. 

Washington's, Not Myanmar's "National Unity Government"

May 26, 2021 (Brian Berletic - LD) - We're told that Myanmar's "National Unity Government" (NUG) represents the democratic will of the people. In reality it's a creation of and fully serves US and British interests.

In this video, I cover the deep US government funding that has been poured into several of the NUG's key personalities over the course of years before coming to power. While the Western media claims Myanmar's government toppled a "democratically elected" government, in reality it is clear Myanmar's military is trying to reassert the nation's sovereignty, stripped from it by Western interference. 

Exposing Myanmar's US-Backed Opposition

May 7, 2021 (Brian Berletic - LD) - The Western media claims Myanmar’s opposition represents the pro-democracy aspirations of the people, contrasting from what they claim is a violent military-led regime. 

In reality, the government Myanmar's military ousted from power in February was entirely the product of foreign interference - and in no way represented a "democratically elected" government. 

In addition to that, the Western media has covered up for years the racist, genocidal nature of Aung San Suu Kyi and her support base - in yet another example of the US backing extremists in an attempt to divide and destroy yet another country - and in Myanmar’s case - to spite China, Myanmar’s largest trade pattern and infrastructure partner.

Brian Berletic, formally known under the pen name "Tony Cartalucci" is a geopolitical researcher, writer, and video producer (YouTube here, Odysee here, and BitChute here) based in Bangkok, Thailand. He is a regular contributor to New Eastern Outlook and more recently, 21st Century Wire. You can support his work via Patreon here. 

Sleepwalking into Washington's Next Regime Change Crisis: Myanmar

April 27, 2021 (Brian Berletic - NEO) - The crisis in Southeast Asia's Myanmar continues to grow following the February 2021 military-led ousting of US-backed Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy (NLD) party. 

Violence between US-backed opposition groups joined with US-armed and trained ethnic rebels and the central government has become the focus of the Western media as well as Western government themselves. 

Just as was the case in Libya in 2011, the US government, the Western media, and a global network of US-funded fronts posing as rights groups and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) are attempting to make the case for intervening in Myanmar - first through sanctions and then eventually through the recognition of and providing direct support to a US-backed parallel government and the armed groups fighting on its behalf.  

The goal of destabilizing Myanmar mirrors similar campaigns of propaganda, violence, and instability in China's Xinjiang region, Balochistan in Pakistan, and virtually everywhere else China's One Belt, One Road development project is active - to encircle China with chaos and contain China's rise upon the international stage. 

To sell yet another episode of US-engineered regime change around the world, the Western media is using 3 key talking points to pressure nations around the world and particularly in Southeast Asia - to aid in advancing US foreign policy objectives versus Myanmar. 

1. "The Violence Must End" 

Of course the violence should end. But the US government, Western media, and Western-backed fronts are referring only to violence carried out by Myanmar's military and police. 

No mention at all is made of opposition violence. 

Just as the US and the Western media did during the "Arab Spring" in 2011, the 2014 US-backed overthrow of the Ukrainian government, or the more recent US-backed riots in Hong Kong - no mention at all is made of opposition violence. 

Even as outlets like CNN admit in articles like, "Myanmar's military is waging war on its citizens. Some say it's time to fight back," that the opposition is coming into possession of war weapons - the violence is still being depicted as "one-sided." 

This talking point is being repeated even by media, politicians, and diplomats across ASEAN. 

However, if a problem is to be fully solved, it must be fully understood. 

Condemning and stopping only half the violence amid an ongoing armed conflict is the same recipe for disaster used to destroy Libya, nearly destroy Syria, destabilize Ukraine, and leave nations like Yemen festering as massive and ongoing humanitarian crises for years to come. 

2. "Democracy Must Return to Myanmar" 

While Myanmar did indeed have elections which resulted in Aung San Suu Kyi's NLD taking power - these are not elections that could - by any stretch of the imagination - be deemed "fair and free." 

The US and British governments have for decades poured money and political support into Aung San Suu Kyi's political machine - both by directly backing the NLD as well as creating a massive nationwide network of fronts posing as NGOs to support the NLD before, during, and after elections. 

The US government's National Endowment for Democracy (NED) alone lists over 80 programs (that are admitted to) that form the core organizations making up Aung San Suu Kyi's political base, interfering in areas ranging from media and lawmaking, to education and infrastructure, to political campaigning and polling, to economic affairs and resource management. 

Aung San Suu Kyi herself has travelled to Washington DC specifically to meet with the US NED. 

Myanmar: US-backed Opposition is ARMED

April 6, 2021 (Brian Berletic - LD) - After weeks of denying the violence carried out by US-backed opposition groups in Myanmar, US-funded propaganda outlets like "Myanmar Now" are finally admitting and making excuses for the opposition fighting government security forces with war weapons. 

The opposition has announced a parallel government the US is likely going to “recognize” and offer military support to - creating a catastrophe directly on China’s as well as Thailand’s borders in a chain of events identical to the US engineered “Arab Spring” and interventions in Libya and Syria in 2011.

Armed groups linking up with US-backed anti-government protesters represent US-British backed proxies armed and trained by the West for decades - including as colonial forces used by the British to occupy Myanmar - then called “Burma.”

Now just as they were under the British Empire, these ethnic militants are key to dividing and destroying Myanmar, denying it peace and stability, and denying its neighbors - including China and Thailand - a stable and prosperous partner.  

References: 

Myanmar Now (US NED-funded) - As slaughter of civilians continues, some decide it’s time to take up arms:

https://www.myanmar-now.org/en/news/as-slaughter-of-civilians-continues-some-decide-its-time-to-take-up-arms

Columbia Journalism Review - Myanmar’s Other Reports (paragraph 19, Myanmar Now’s NED funding): 

https://www.cjr.org/special_report/myanmars-other-reporters.php

US National Endowment for Democracy - Burma (2020): 

https://www.ned.org/region/asia/burma-2020/

LD - West Grinds Development to a Halt in Myanmar (Burma) (2011):

https://landdestroyer.blogspot.com/2011/12/fruits-of-globalization-regression.html

LD - Militants Threaten China's OBOR Initiative in Myanmar (2018): 

https://landdestroyer.blogspot.com/2018/07/militants-threaten-chinas-obor.html

US National Endowment for Democracy - Burma (2020):

https://www.ned.org/region/asia/burma-2020/

Brian Berletic, formally known under the pen name "Tony Cartalucci" is a geopolitical researcher, writer, and video producer (YouTube here, Odysee here, and BitChute here) based in Bangkok, Thailand. He is a regular contributor to New Eastern Outlook and more recently, 21st Century Wire. You can support his work via Patreon here. 

Myanmar, Libya, and Syria: Dangerous Parallels

April 1, 2021 (Brian Berletic - NEO) - When protesters in the streets of Myanmar began waving signs around in English demanding "R2P" or the "responsibility to protect," the initial reaction should have been for many - a flashback to the last time R2P was invoked - in 2011 by the West regarding Libya. 

The violence in Libya in 2011 was part of the wider US-engineered "Arab Spring" with opposition groups, fronts posing as nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and even armed factions all backed by the US and prepared years in advance to carry out a region-wide campaign of destabilization, regime change, military intervention, and occupation. 

At the time, many - including US Senator John McCain - promised the "Arab Spring" would spread - deliberately and as part of Washington's desire to encircle, contain, and eventually overthrow the political and economic orders of Iran, Russia, and China. 

The Atlantic in a 2011 article titled, "The Arab Spring: 'A Virus That Will Attack Moscow and Beijing'," would even note: 

...McCain dropped a pretty big zinger on the crowd.

He said, "A year ago, Ben-Ali and Gaddafi were not in power.  Assad won't be in power this time next year.  This Arab Spring is a virus that will attack Moscow and Beijing." McCain then walked off the stage.

Despite the ultimate failure of the US-engineered Arab Spring to achieve sweeping regime change beyond Libya - it still managed to destabilize or otherwise destroy the regions of North Africa and the Middle East - create a pretext for a permanent US military presence there, including an enduring occupation of Syria's eastern region, and the creation of a ongoing conflict that could easily be described as a proxy war against Iran - one of the nations the 2011 Arab Spring was ultimately aimed at. 

McCain was a stalwart supporter of US military intervention amid the opening phases of the Arab Spring. He met with US-armed and backed terrorists both in Libya and Syria until his death in 2018. 

When he declared US-engineered conflict would eventually reach Moscow and Beijing - it was clear even at the time that it would - by necessity - first need to arrive in and erode the stability of nations along the peripheries of both Russia and China. 

And this is a process that has continued ever since - with US-backed "color revolution" attacking Ukraine in 2013-2014, Belarus more recently - and both within China and along its peripheries - deadly separatism in China's Xinjiang region, violent riots in Hong Kong, opposition groups in Thailand openly opposed to close relations between Bangkok and Beijing - and now the crisis in Myanmar. 

Myanmar, Libya, and Syria: Dangerous Parallels 

The protests in Myanmar in response to the ousting of the US-backed government of Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy (NLD) earlier this year - began violently. These were the same political groups that had stormed Rohingya communities years earlier - killing residents and burning homes and businesses to the ground. It is unlikely that since then, they've adopted "peaceful" methods.

To help spin the violent nature of the protests - the Western media has depended heavily on faux-human rights groups like Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) who provides baseless "tallies" of dead and detained. The Western media never mentions that AAPP is funded by the US government via the National Endowment for Democracy and that the AAPP's founder and and joint secretary - Ko Bo Kyi - is also an NED "fellow."  

Myanmar: Hidden Opposition Violence

March 19, 2021 (Brian Berletic - NEO) - As is common with US-backed color revolutions around the globe, the Western media will attempt to cover up opposition violence for as long as possible until shifting the narrative toward a "reluctant civil war" in which opposition groups were "given no choice" but to take up arms. 

Of course, in every example - from Libya and Syria to Yemen and Ukraine - violence was part of US-backed political subversion from the beginning. 

This is no different in the Southeast Asian state of Myanmar where US-backed protesters are in the streets fighting with Myanmar's police and military. 

The "Activists Say" School of Journalism

The Western media is once again relying on the "activists say" method of reporting - absolving themselves from actual, objective and factual journalism and instead reporting on the conflict from the point of view of Western-backed opposition groups who have every motivation to depict themselves as victims and Myanmar's new government as being brutal and repressive. 

Reports are based almost entirely on information from local media funded by the US government through the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) - outlets like The Irrawaddy, Mizzama, DVB (Democratic Voice of Burma), as well as "monitoring groups" like the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP).  

A glance at any Western media report will include at least one of these sources. 

Far from journalists or actual monitoring groups - these are components of the opposition who have every motivation to relay a narrative that serves to advance their own political agenda rather than  reporting the truth. 

Similar "activists say" reporting was used by the West for years during the Syrian conflict with the Western media attempting to cover up opposition violence up to and including junctures where militants began operating tanks, artillery, and anti-tank missiles. 

Crumbling Facade

As in Syria and Ukraine - where Western attempts to cover up violence and brutality among the opposition eventually gave way to the fact that both opposition groups were violent extremists - the truth about violence used by protesters in Myanmar is also beginning to emerge. 

The Western Propaganda War on Myanmar

March 1, 2021 (Brian Berletic - LD) - In this video I discuss the propaganda war being waged by the Western media on Myanmar - how much of the media cited is funded by the US government via the National Endowment for Democracy (NED). 

I also describe how even media in Thailand is heavily influenced by Western propaganda - repeating conspiracy theories spun by “institutes” funded by Western weapons manufacturers trying to implicate China as being behind the new government - while ignoring documented evidence of US government support for opposition groups opposed to the new government. 

References: 

Thai PBS - Myanmar Journal: Local media defy orders to not use terms “military coup” or “military government”:
https://www.thaipbsworld.com/myanmar-journal-the-people-of-myanmar-have-bigger-things-to-worry-about/
The Strategist (The Australian Strategic Policy Institute) - What’s on the clandestine nightly flights between Myanmar and China?:
https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/whats-on-the-clandestine-nightly-flights-between-myanmar-and-china/
US National Endowment for Democracy - Burma (2020):
https://www.ned.org/region/asia/burma-2020/
The Grayzone - Reuters, BBC, and Bellingcat participated in covert UK Foreign Office-funded programs to “weaken Russia,” leaked docs reveal:
https://thegrayzone.com/2021/02/20/reuters-bbc-uk-foreign-office-russian-media/

Brian Berletic, formally known under the pen name "Tony Cartalucci" is a geopolitical researcher, writer, and video producer (YouTube here and BitChute here) based in Bangkok, Thailand. He is a regular contributor to New Eastern Outlook and more recently, 21st Century Wire. You can support his work via Patreon here. 

Myanmar Crisis Explained...

February 2, 2021 (Brian Berletic - LD) - Myanmar’s military has seized power, detained Aung San Suu Kyi and has begun rounding up members of her National League for Democracy political party. 

I explain how the US has spent decades building ASSK’s political network and installing her into power and how US-backed groups - including those in Thailand - are already mobilizing to undermine not only Myanmar’s political stability - but also that of the entire region.

For a much more in-depth explanation, please view the video below. 

I explain why the US had been placing pressure on Aung San Suu Kyi in recent years and why the US is still going to support her and the vast network the US built up in Myanmar to propel her into power regardless. 

References: 

US National Endowment for Democracy - Burma (2019):
https://www.ned.org/region/asia/burma-2019/

US National Endowment for Democracy - The 2012 Democracy Award: Award for Aung San Suu Kyi: 

https://youtu.be/UTuz4UGwl38

The White House - Statement by White House Spokesperson Jen Psaki on Burma: 

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/01/31/statement-by-white-house-spokesperson-jen-psaki-on-burma/#:~:text=The%20United%20States%20is%20alarmed,other%20civilian%20officials%20in%20Burma.

LD - Myanmar (Burma) "Pro-Democracy" Movement a Creation of Wall Street & London:

https://landdestroyer.blogspot.com/2011/11/burmese-pro-democracy-movement-creation.html

LD - The Fruits of Globalization: Regression, Destitution, Domination: 

https://landdestroyer.blogspot.com/2011/12/fruits-of-globalization-regression.html

LD - Myanmar: Trading in the Devil You Know…: 

https://landdestroyer.blogspot.com/2015/12/myanmar-trading-in-devil-you-know.html

LD - Militants Threaten China's OBOR Initiative in Myanmar: 

https://landdestroyer.blogspot.com/2018/07/militants-threaten-chinas-obor.html

LD - How the US Took Over Myanmar's Ministry of Information: 

https://landdestroyer.blogspot.com/2016/08/how-us-took-over-myanmars-ministry-of.html

LD - "Pro-Democracy" Groups Behind Myanmar Refugee Attacks:  https://landdestroyer.blogspot.com/2012/10/pro-democracy-groups-behind-myanmar.html

Brian Berletic, formally known under the pen name "Tony Cartalucci" is a geopolitical researcher, writer, and video producer (YouTube here and BitChute here) based in Bangkok, Thailand. He is a regular contributor to New Eastern Outlook and more recently, 21st Century Wire. You can support his work via Patreon here. 

US Loses Myanmar to China

June 29, 2020 (Joseph Thomas - NEO) - For the Southeast Asian state of Myanmar, the decision to expand ties with China despite Western pressure was a no-brainer. Significant economic ties have been expanded and the prospect for several large-scale infrastructure projects have been firmed up.

Chinese President Xi Jinping's recent visit to Myanmar could be considered a victory lap of sorts; the cementing of long-standing and ever-expanding ties between Myanmar and China and the final displacement of significant US and British influence in the former British colony. 

An op-ed on China's CGTN website titled, "Xi's New Year visit to Myanmar: A milestone in bilateral relations," would help frame the significance of President Xi's visit while comparing and contrasting Myanmar's ties with China and the US.

The op-ed would note that President Xi's trip to Myanmar was his first major trip abroad made during 2020. It is also the first major visit by a Chinese leader to Myanmar in nearly 20 years.

Even US Proxies Can't Deny America's Decline 

The op-ed also noted that Myanmar's State Counsellor, Aung San Suu Kyi, picked China for her first major visit abroad after her National League for Democracy party came to power in 2016.

To understand the significance of this it is important to understand that Suu Kyi and her rise to power was primarily driven by support from Washington.

She and her political party along with a large army of US government-funded fronts posing as nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) and US-funded media networks were selected and groomed for decades by Washington to seize power and serve as a vector for US special interests both in Myanmar itself and as a point of leverage versus Beijing.

However, despite America's expertise in political meddling, what it lacks is, as the op-ed calls it, any concrete economic pillars; something China does have on offer.

No matter how much covert or overt financial and political support any client regime in Myanmar may receive from Washington it does not address the genuine need for real development within Myanmar itself. Without such development and the financial and economic incentives it brings with it, enemies and allies of the client regime alike will turn towards those who can offer such incentives.

Xi's Visit Focused on Pragmatism, Not Politics 

The CGTN op-ed noted the focus of President Xi's visit which centred around major political issues plaguing Myanmar including the ongoing Rohingya crisis and border conflicts with neighbouring Bangladesh resulting from the crisis.

The focus was not on feigned concerns for human rights however, but rather on establishing stability since Myanmar and Bangladesh are both partners with Beijing and its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

The visit also focused on pushing forward stalled infrastructure projects that have been held up by US-funded fronts hiding behind human rights and environmental concerns.