Myanmar junta chief hails Trump in rare overture, seeks tariff cuts
'Similar to the challenges you encountered during the 2020 election of the US, we also experienced major electoral fraud and significant irregularities,' Min Aung Hlaing wrote to Trump, in the regime's first known direct correspondence with the US government in over four years.
The Myanmar junta has offered no credible evidence to support their claims, US officials have said, and numerous US courts have rejected Trump's claims of fraud.
In the letter released by the ruling State Administration Council, the general praised Trump's leadership 'with the spirit of a true patriot' and his efforts to promote global peace.
The outreach comes as the isolated regime, shunned by most Western nations, seeks international legitimacy beyond its key partners China and Russia.
Min Aung Hlaing also appealed for US sanctions relief, requesting that Trump help ease or lift restrictions imposed after the 2021 military takeover that ousted the elected, civilian government led by Aung San Suu Kyi.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
2 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
‘Global approach' to AI regulation urgently needed, UN tech chief says
The world urgently needs to find a global approach to regulating artificial intelligence, the United Nations' top tech chief said this week, warning that fragmentation could deepen risks and inequalities. Doreen Bogdan-Martin, head of the UN's International Telecommunications Union (ITU) agency, said she hoped that AI 'can actually benefit humanity.' But as concerns mount over the risks posed by the fast-moving technology – including fears of mass job losses, the spread of deepfakes and disinformation, and society's fabric fraying – she insisted that regulation was key. 'There's an urgency to try to get … the right framework in place,' she said, stressing the need for 'a global approach.' Her comments came after US President Donald Trump this week unveiled an aggressive, low-regulation strategy aimed at ensuring the United States stays ahead of China on AI. Among more than 90 proposals, Trump's plan calls for sweeping deregulation, with the administration promising to 'remove red tape and onerous regulation' that could hinder private sector AI development.
South China Morning Post
4 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Global AI regulation urgently needed, UN tech chief says
The world urgently needs to find a global approach to regulating artificial intelligence, the United Nations' top tech chief said this week, warning that fragmentation could deepen risks and inequalities. Doreen Bogdan-Martin, head of the UN's International Telecommunications Union (ITU) agency, said she hoped that AI 'can actually benefit humanity.' But as concerns mount over the risks posed by the fast-moving technology – including fears of mass job losses, the spread of deepfakes and disinformation, and society's fabric fraying – she insisted that regulation was key. 'There's an urgency to try to get … the right framework in place,' she said, stressing the need for 'a global approach.' Her comments came after US President Donald Trump this week unveiled an aggressive, low-regulation strategy aimed at ensuring the United States stays ahead of China on AI. Among more than 90 proposals, Trump's plan calls for sweeping deregulation, with the administration promising to 'remove red tape and onerous regulation' that could hinder private sector AI development.
South China Morning Post
4 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Trump is right to reverse Biden's failed curbs on chips to China
China policy – or for that matter any policy – coming out of the Donald Trump White House is not usually known for being the product of considered thought and deliberation. Advertisement But allowing China to resume buying more legacy chips other than the most advanced ones may be its most rational and defensible yet. Negotiations after Geneva and London led to China loosening export controls on rare earths and the US allowing chipmakers such as Nvidia to resume selling its H20 artificial intelligence (AI) chips to China. That's usually interpreted as a quid pro quo. However, it's clear Washington also thinks it's good policy as well as good for business. H20 was tailor-made for the China market when the US started imposing chip curbs. But it eventually fell under expanding US restrictions covering even legacy ones. At one time, Gina Raimondo, Joe Biden's commerce secretary, boasted that she would tighten the curbs every time a firm like Nvidia tried to get around them. But it soon became clear that the curbs weren't working. First, the squeeze actually made China move quickly to refashion its entire chipmaking industry. When Raimondo was making an official visit to Beijing in the summer of 2023, Huawei released its Kirin 9000s chip for its Mate 60 smartphones, using China's SMIC 7nm node. That was a clear challenge to Raimondo and her boss at the White House. Advertisement Soon, articles questioning the effectiveness of the chip curbs were appearing in mainstream American media, including Foreign Affairs, the semi-official publication of the US foreign policy establishment.
