China is benefiting from the hell in Myanmar

In March a 7.7 magnitude earthquake hit Myanmar, in which 3,740 people died. And yet the earthquake is not the main humanitarian crisis in that troubled country. Since Myanmar’s military junta brutally took control in a coup in 2021, nearly 10,000 civilians have been killed. The UN estimates 3m have been displaced and over 2m are on the brink of famine. The economy has shrunk by a fifth, and is estimated to be around half the size of its pre-coup trajectory. All this has made Myanmar a hub of lawlessness in Asia. Illicit drug production, human-trafficking and a huge scam industry are booming.