Rebecca Tan

China’s chemical exports are behind a ‘tsunami’ of meth flooding Asia Chinese manufacturers are shipping meth precursor chemicals to warlords in Myanmar, precipitating a drug crisis across the Asia-Pacific, a Post investigation finds.

A Post investigation found that Chinese manufacturers are shipping large amounts of chemicals that can be used in producing synthetic drugs to lawless parts of Southeast Asia, where criminal gangs have been trafficking record levels of meth.

China’s chemical exports are behind a ‘tsunami’ of meth flooding Asia Chinese manufacturers are shipping meth precursor chemicals to warlords in Myanmar, precipitating a drug crisis across the Asia-Pacific, a Post investigation finds.

@rebtanhs.bsky.social รายงาน, Shin Sirachai Arunrugstichai ภาพ
โคตรยาว แต่ควรค่า อ่านตัวเต็มได้ใน (ถ้าไม่เป็นสมาชิก สามารถใช้อีเมลสมัครอ่านฟรีได้หนึ่งเรื่อง) www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/1...

China’s chemical exports are behind a ‘tsunami’ of meth flooding Asia Chinese manufacturers are shipping meth precursor chemicals to warlords in Myanmar, precipitating a drug crisis across the Asia-Pacific, a Post investigation finds.

Record levels of meth are flooding Asia. This doesn't just mirror the fentanyl crisis in the Americas; it's directly linked. The companies supplying Mexican cartels are the same as those supplying Myanmar warlords.

A year-long investigation out on the @washingtonpost.com now:

wapo.st/3LmdDdo

Indonesia, world’s largest Muslim nation, looks to expand role in Gaza President Prabowo Subianto wants to assert Indonesia’s influence on the global stage — and foster closer ties to President Donald Trump.

One country that may play a growing role in Gaza's peace process: Indonesia.

Much of this push is being driven directly by President Prabowo, who has a deep and personal connection to the mideast, say officials. New in @washingtonpost.com:

www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/1...

How Cambodia, a staunch ally of China, became infatuated with Trump Cambodia’s elite is taken with Trump, partly thanks to his disregard for democratic processes, but also due to his efforts to secure ceasefire in a border conflict with Thailand.

Despite being one of the world’s staunchest China supporters, Cambodia is embracing President Donald Trump with a level of enthusiasm virtually unmatched in Asia.

“The Trump way of operating is something that the Cambodian leadership understands."

www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...

How sounds from a Philippine slum gave rise to a viral music genre Budots, a genre of deliberately tacky dance music from the slums of the Philippines, is shaped by the noise, joy and violence of the streets. Take a listen.

Budots is invading your feeds, whether you know it or not… 💿🪩🎧

We went to Davao, birthplace of the viral genre, to interview the legendary DJ Love. Now in @washingtonpost.com!

wapo.st/4ndb7DT

Illicit gold mining is surging across the globe. Across the operations in Ghana, Indonesia, French Guiana, there’s a connecting thread: Chinese syndicates.

New investigation in @washingtonpost.com: wapo.st/41GgjHP

Global ‘mining mafia’ feeds China’s appetite for gold, investigation shows To reduce reliance on the U.S. dollar and build its own capacity to influence the international monetary system, China is procuring gold at a voracious pace.

Chinese illicit mining syndicates are ransacking gold deposits across the world, from Ghana to Indonesia. An unchecked "mining mafia" has left behind a trail of environmental devastation.

New investigation for the @washingtonpost.com:

www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...

The Philippines is quietly working with Taiwan to counter China Manila’s significant shift could pave the way for the Philippines, an American treaty ally, to play a bigger role in regional defense if China invades Taiwan.

“It would be hiding from the obvious to say that Taiwan’s security will not affect us,” said Philippine Defense Sec Teodoro, who has backed a proposal to view the East China Sea, the South China Sea and the Korean Peninsula as a single “theater” of battle.

www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...

Hi, Matt! Yes, there are many Hongmen groups and certainly not all are entwined with criminality. Wan, based on our reporting, co-opted and invoked the Hongmen branding to legitimize his network. But many of his deputies also have ties to the Zhigong party, making things more complex...

Chinese association accused of mixing crime and patriotism as it serves Beijing A Washington Post investigation found that China has selectively used criminal actors for geopolitical purposes, as long as they proclaim loyalty to the Communist Party.

The World Hongmen History and Culture Association, which says it is devoted to promoting Chinese culture abroad, is not just an alleged criminal front. It is entwined with the Chinese Communist Party, according to a Post investigation.

Long arc of reconciliation between U.S. and Vietnam falters under Trump Fifty years after the end of the Vietnam War, decades of progress in addressing its legacies is coming undone.

Fifty years, surely, is not long ago enough to forget. A gift link to our story that lets you read for free:

wapo.st/4jTIPMR

Some bilateral work on war legacies, such as the search for the missing remains of hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese soldiers, had only begun in recent years. The U.S. retreat will significantly hobble progress, say Vietnamese groups.

Perhaps the most poignant symbol: The U.S. and Vietnam were meant to put on a first-of-its kind, joint exhibit at the War Remnants museum in HCM city to mark 30 years of normalization. The exhibit is now in limbo because the American officials in charge of it have been fired.

An initiative to help U.S. businesses tap into Vietnam’s renewable energy grid. Two agreements to prevent spread of infectious diseases from animals to humans, signed post-covid. Funding for an American-style lib arts college that had taken years for Vietnam’s govt to approve.

The dismantling of USAID and USIP have undermined the very foundation of reconciliation, say U.S. officials. Dozens of programs that were touted by U.S. officials as evidence of American commitment to Vietnam have been axed. 34 out of 43 USAID contracts gone.

The Vietnam War ended 50 years ago today. It took decades for the two countries to normalize relations, then decades more for the U.S. to begin redressing what it left behind. These efforts at reconciliation are being eroded under Trump.

A 🧵on our @washingtonpost.com story today:

Red Cross in Myanmar: Nearly 200,000 people displaced from the quake still living outdoors under 40-degree heat. "Myanmar’s cyclone season starts within days, exposing coastal populations to strong winds and rains – leaving families to face the risks of floods and landslides."

Asian markets extend losses amid Trump tariff uncertainty President Donald Trump suggested he might be open to doing deals over tariffs, raising hopes in Japan, Vietnam and Taiwan. But China is preparing to retaliate.

American businessman Michael Laskau said if the proposed tariffs are imposed, the impact on his garment business in Vietnam would be dramatic. “If we were to assume the 46 percent, it would be a huge, huge loss, as it would be for anybody in the supply chain.”

www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...

Trump’s USAID cuts cripple American response to Myanmar earthquake Three days after the quake, there are no U.S. teams on the ground in Myanmar, a stark illustration of how Trump has upended America’s role in disaster response.

Powerful piece by @rebtanhs.bsky.social @washingtonpost.com #MyanmarEarthquake #USAID: www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...

UN humanitarian coordinator for Myanmar:

"The humanitarian response in Myanmar has been chronically underfunded for years. Four months into the year right now, less than 5 per cent of the required US$1.1 billion of the Humanitarian Response Plan has been received."

The tangible effects of Elon Musk’s DOGE cuts are on display right now in Myanmar, say USAID officials. America’s disaster relief capabilities, the biggest and best in the world, are immobilized while the death toll in Myanmar’s earthquake climbs up and up.

@washingtonpost.com

Trump’s USAID cuts cripple American response to Myanmar earthquake Three days after the quake, there are no U.S. teams on the ground in Myanmar, a stark illustration of how Trump has upended America’s role in disaster response.

Hours after the 7.7-magnitude earthquake devastated Myanmar on Friday, the U.S. officials charged with responding received their termination letters. Most of the personnel who would have made up a U.S. response team were already on indefinite leave @rebtanhs.bsky.social reports

wapo.st/3E3PiFR

Trump’s USAID cuts cripple American response to Myanmar earthquake Three days after the quake, there are no U.S. teams on the ground in Myanmar, a stark illustration of how Trump has upended America’s role in disaster response.

We're seeing in real time the terrible consequences of Musk & Trump's dismantling of USAID.

A devastating earthquake has killed thousands — and many more will die without vital U.S. aid.

The AID officials in charge had just gotten their termination letters. America in retreat.

Trump’s USAID cuts cripple American response to Myanmar earthquake Three days after the quake, there are no U.S. teams on the ground in Myanmar, a stark illustration of how Trump has upended America’s role in disaster response.

Three days after the quake, there are no U.S. teams on the ground in Myanmar, a stark illustration of how Trump has upended America’s role in disaster response.

After decades fighting demolitions, Palestinian sees own home wrecked Jerusalem officials say they are razing structures as part of an “urban renewal” project. Rights groups fear Israel is pressuring Palestinian residents to leave.

Fakhri Abu Diab led the effort to protect homes in East Jerusalem’s al-Bustan neighborhood from demolition. In November, Israel destroyed his house.

Asian farmworkers are being killed in Israel’s embattled border regions Despite repeated protests from their countries, Israel has continued to let migrant laborers work in high-risk military zones.

When Israel ordered citizens to evacuate border regions more than a year ago, it allowed poor migrant farmworkers, most of them from Thailand, to stay put — to water crops, prune trees and harvest fruit as rockets fell around them. Six have died this year.

www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/1...

Asian farmworkers are being killed in Israel’s embattled border regions Despite repeated protests from their countries, Israel has continued to let migrant laborers work in high-risk military zones.

Read behind the paywall here:
wapo.st/4g1CSfh

Employers say workers are not being forced to stay in Israel. But labor rights groups say this is disingenuous. Thai workers can earn up to 10x more in Israel. They don't get paid each day that they don't work. So most days, even with rockets falling, they do.

Videos shared by Thai workers show them laboring under dire conditions: Plucking fruit with air raid sirens blaring; ducking under trucks as missiles streaked overhead. Nowhere near shelters or any other protection from exploding shrapnel.