Myanmar’s military has deployed hundreds of troops to forcibly clear areas marked for a Russia-backed special economic zone in the country’s south, burning villages and sealing off surrounding tracts of land, according to resistance fighters and a local activist with direct knowledge. The offensive around the Dawei Special Economic Zone (SEZ) — that includes a planned deep-sea port and power plant on the Andaman Sea — is the clearest sign yet that Myanmar’s military-backed government is willing to use force to revive a project touted as a strategic alternative to the Strait of Malacca. The push also coincides with a diplomatic charm offensive: junta chief-turned-President Min Aung Hlaing pitched Dawei as a potential gateway to South and West Asia during a landmark visit to Thailand this month and discussed the project again this week in talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
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