{"id":1579,"date":"2016-03-30T18:21:22","date_gmt":"2016-03-30T18:21:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.griffithasiainsights.com.au\/?p=1389"},"modified":"2023-08-07T07:55:34","modified_gmt":"2023-08-06T21:55:34","slug":"rats-of-rangoon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/rats-of-rangoon\/","title":{"rendered":"The rats of Rangoon"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/tag\/andrew-selth\/\">ANDREW SELTH<\/a>\u00a0 |<\/p>\n<p>From plague, to meals, to piles and piles of poo \u2014 Andrew Selth on the former capital&#8217;s resident rodents.<\/p>\n<p>When I was posted to the Australian embassy in Rangoon (now Yangon) in 1974, I spent my first six weeks living at the Strand Hotel. This was before the grand old building was renovated and turned into one of the city\u2019s most exclusive hostelries.<\/p>\n<p>As I was sitting in an enormous bathtub one night soon after my arrival, I was surprised to see what I thought was a mongoose run across the bathroom floor. On investigating further, I discovered that it was in fact a large rat. This was my introduction to the former capital\u2019s most prolific form of wildlife.<\/p>\n<p>I was reminded of this incident recently when reading Bad Lands, a memoir by Tony Wheeler, who co-founded the Lonely Planet guide book company. He described a similar experience in the Strand Hotel in 1979:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>What was a problem was that at 10pm not only did the bar shut, but also the rats came out to play. Soon they were bounding across the lobby, leaping from sofa to table to chair. Occasionally, they\u2019d short-cut right across your lap, which reduced our Dutch friend to crouching on top of his chair with his feet drawn up, uttering unhappy squeaks.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>The American travel writer Andrew Harper once claimed that, during the 1980s, the Strand\u2019s rats were almost as legendary as the ducks at Memphis&#8217;s famous Peabody Hotel.<\/p>\n<p>Tourists who visited Burma (now Myanmar) during the Ne Win era (1962\u20141988), and the small community of foreigners resident there, rarely came away from the country without a tale or two about its ubiquitous rat population. They were counted among the standard \u2018war stories\u2019 circulated by veterans to impress those who had not been there. I remember being encouraged by my colleagues to emphasise the extent of Rangoon\u2019s rat problem in my reports back to Canberra, as a way of deflecting attempts by public service inspectors to reduce the embassy\u2019s hardship allowances.<\/p>\n<p>Please click here to read the full &#8220;<a href=\"http:\/\/asiapacific.anu.edu.au\/newmandala\/2016\/03\/29\/the-rats-of-rangoon\/\">The rats of Rangoon<\/a>&#8221; article in the New Mandala by Griffith Asia Institute Adjunct Associate Professor, Dr Andrew Selth.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>ANDREW SELTH\u00a0 | From plague, to meals, to piles and piles of poo \u2014 Andrew Selth on the former capital&#8217;s resident rodents. When I was posted to the Australian embassy in Rangoon (now Yangon) in 1974, I spent my first six weeks living at the Strand Hotel. This was before the grand old building was [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":1641,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[247],"tags":[1672,279,369],"class_list":["post-1579","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-indonesia-and-southeast-asia","tag-andrew-selth","tag-burma","tag-myanmar"],"acf":[],"modified_by":"Christine Kowalski","yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The rats of Rangoon | Griffith Asia Insights<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"ANDREW SELTH\u00a0 | From plague, to meals, to piles and piles of poo \u2014 Andrew Selth on the former capital&#039;s resident rodents. When I was posted to the\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/rats-of-rangoon\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The rats of Rangoon | Griffith Asia Insights\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"ANDREW SELTH\u00a0 | From plague, to meals, to piles and piles of poo \u2014 Andrew Selth on the former capital&#039;s resident rodents. When I was posted to the\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/rats-of-rangoon\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Griffith Asia Insights\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/griffithasiainstitute\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-03-30T18:21:22+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-08-06T21:55:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/04\/rats-of-rangoon-article-feature-banner.jpg?fit=900%2C300&ssl=1\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"300\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Griffith Asia Institute\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@GAIGriffith\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@GAIGriffith\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Griffith Asia Institute\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\\\/asiainsights\\\/rats-of-rangoon\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\\\/asiainsights\\\/rats-of-rangoon\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Griffith Asia Institute\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\\\/asiainsights\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8121b8aa336749474cbaca380c03029a\"},\"headline\":\"The rats of Rangoon\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-03-30T18:21:22+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-08-06T21:55:34+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\\\/asiainsights\\\/rats-of-rangoon\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":372,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\\\/asiainsights\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\\\/asiainsights\\\/rats-of-rangoon\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\\\/asiainsights\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2016\\\/04\\\/rats-of-rangoon-article-feature-banner.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Andrew Selth\",\"Burma\",\"Myanmar\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Region | Indonesia and Southeast Asia\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\\\/asiainsights\\\/rats-of-rangoon\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\\\/asiainsights\\\/rats-of-rangoon\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\\\/asiainsights\\\/rats-of-rangoon\\\/\",\"name\":\"The rats of Rangoon | Griffith Asia Insights\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\\\/asiainsights\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\\\/asiainsights\\\/rats-of-rangoon\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\\\/asiainsights\\\/rats-of-rangoon\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\\\/asiainsights\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2016\\\/04\\\/rats-of-rangoon-article-feature-banner.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-03-30T18:21:22+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-08-06T21:55:34+00:00\",\"description\":\"ANDREW SELTH\u00a0 | From plague, to meals, to piles and piles of poo \u2014 Andrew Selth on the former capital's resident rodents. When I was posted to the\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\\\/asiainsights\\\/rats-of-rangoon\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\\\/asiainsights\\\/rats-of-rangoon\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\\\/asiainsights\\\/rats-of-rangoon\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\\\/asiainsights\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2016\\\/04\\\/rats-of-rangoon-article-feature-banner.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\\\/asiainsights\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2016\\\/04\\\/rats-of-rangoon-article-feature-banner.jpg\",\"width\":900,\"height\":300},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\\\/asiainsights\\\/rats-of-rangoon\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\\\/asiainsights\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The rats of Rangoon\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\\\/asiainsights\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\\\/asiainsights\\\/\",\"name\":\"Griffith Asia Insights\",\"description\":\"Asia Insights is published by the Griffith Asia Institute. It offers latest commentary on Asia-Pacific affairs and aims to inform and foster academic scholarship, public awareness and considered and responsive policy making.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\\\/asiainsights\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\\\/asiainsights\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\\\/asiainsights\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Griffith Asia Institute\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\\\/asiainsights\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\\\/asiainsights\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/blogs.griffith.edu.au\\\/asiainsights\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2023\\\/10\\\/GU_Griffith-Asia-Institute_rgb_red_horizontal.png?fit=2930%2C308&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/blogs.griffith.edu.au\\\/asiainsights\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2023\\\/10\\\/GU_Griffith-Asia-Institute_rgb_red_horizontal.png?fit=2930%2C308&ssl=1\",\"width\":2930,\"height\":308,\"caption\":\"Griffith Asia Institute\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\\\/asiainsights\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/griffithasiainstitute\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/GAIGriffith\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\\\/asiainsights\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8121b8aa336749474cbaca380c03029a\",\"name\":\"Griffith Asia Institute\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/f133de65681da3b20ddbc1917f066f458d355d7dfa1f214b10ff4bd135d5ab6c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/f133de65681da3b20ddbc1917f066f458d355d7dfa1f214b10ff4bd135d5ab6c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/f133de65681da3b20ddbc1917f066f458d355d7dfa1f214b10ff4bd135d5ab6c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Griffith Asia Institute\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\\\/asiainsights\\\/author\\\/gaigriffith-edu-au\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The rats of Rangoon | Griffith Asia Insights","description":"ANDREW SELTH\u00a0 | From plague, to meals, to piles and piles of poo \u2014 Andrew Selth on the former capital's resident rodents. When I was posted to the","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/rats-of-rangoon\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The rats of Rangoon | Griffith Asia Insights","og_description":"ANDREW SELTH\u00a0 | From plague, to meals, to piles and piles of poo \u2014 Andrew Selth on the former capital's resident rodents. When I was posted to the","og_url":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/rats-of-rangoon\/","og_site_name":"Griffith Asia Insights","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/griffithasiainstitute\/","article_published_time":"2016-03-30T18:21:22+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-08-06T21:55:34+00:00","og_image":[{"width":900,"height":300,"url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/04\/rats-of-rangoon-article-feature-banner.jpg?fit=900%2C300&ssl=1","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Griffith Asia Institute","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@GAIGriffith","twitter_site":"@GAIGriffith","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Griffith Asia Institute","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/rats-of-rangoon\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/rats-of-rangoon\/"},"author":{"name":"Griffith Asia Institute","@id":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/#\/schema\/person\/8121b8aa336749474cbaca380c03029a"},"headline":"The rats of Rangoon","datePublished":"2016-03-30T18:21:22+00:00","dateModified":"2023-08-06T21:55:34+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/rats-of-rangoon\/"},"wordCount":372,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/rats-of-rangoon\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/04\/rats-of-rangoon-article-feature-banner.jpg","keywords":["Andrew Selth","Burma","Myanmar"],"articleSection":["Region | Indonesia and Southeast Asia"],"inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/rats-of-rangoon\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/rats-of-rangoon\/","url":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/rats-of-rangoon\/","name":"The rats of Rangoon | Griffith Asia Insights","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/rats-of-rangoon\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/rats-of-rangoon\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/04\/rats-of-rangoon-article-feature-banner.jpg","datePublished":"2016-03-30T18:21:22+00:00","dateModified":"2023-08-06T21:55:34+00:00","description":"ANDREW SELTH\u00a0 | From plague, to meals, to piles and piles of poo \u2014 Andrew Selth on the former capital's resident rodents. When I was posted to the","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/rats-of-rangoon\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/rats-of-rangoon\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/rats-of-rangoon\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/04\/rats-of-rangoon-article-feature-banner.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/04\/rats-of-rangoon-article-feature-banner.jpg","width":900,"height":300},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/rats-of-rangoon\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The rats of Rangoon"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/#website","url":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/","name":"Griffith Asia Insights","description":"Asia Insights is published by the Griffith Asia Institute. It offers latest commentary on Asia-Pacific affairs and aims to inform and foster academic scholarship, public awareness and considered and responsive policy making.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-AU"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/#organization","name":"Griffith Asia Institute","url":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/10\/GU_Griffith-Asia-Institute_rgb_red_horizontal.png?fit=2930%2C308&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/10\/GU_Griffith-Asia-Institute_rgb_red_horizontal.png?fit=2930%2C308&ssl=1","width":2930,"height":308,"caption":"Griffith Asia Institute"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/griffithasiainstitute\/","https:\/\/x.com\/GAIGriffith"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/#\/schema\/person\/8121b8aa336749474cbaca380c03029a","name":"Griffith Asia Institute","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f133de65681da3b20ddbc1917f066f458d355d7dfa1f214b10ff4bd135d5ab6c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f133de65681da3b20ddbc1917f066f458d355d7dfa1f214b10ff4bd135d5ab6c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f133de65681da3b20ddbc1917f066f458d355d7dfa1f214b10ff4bd135d5ab6c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Griffith Asia Institute"},"url":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/author\/gaigriffith-edu-au\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/04\/rats-of-rangoon-article-feature-banner.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":10376,"url":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/perspectivesasia-australias-pivot-to-india\/","url_meta":{"origin":1579,"position":0},"title":"Perspectives:Asia | Australia\u2019s pivot to India","author":"Griffith Asia Institute","date":"9 November 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"PERSPECTIVES:ASIA\u00a0|\u00a0ANDREW CHARLTON \u00a0| https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=wyZ57trQKAc India is on the rise to become the next global superpower, with a population expected to be larger than the United States and China combined by 2050. For Australia, India has emerged as a new partner offering hope for a more secure and balanced region. The\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Event - Perspectives:Asia&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Event - Perspectives:Asia","link":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/category\/events\/perspectives-asia\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"(L-R) Simon Elliot, Deputy Director, Collection and Exhibitions at QAGOMA, Dr Andrew Charlton, Member of Parliament for Parramatta and Professor Christoph Nedopil Wang, Director, Griffith Asia Institute, Griffith University. (Image: Chlo\u00eb Callistemon)","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/12\/Perspectives-banner-9-11-23.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/12\/Perspectives-banner-9-11-23.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/12\/Perspectives-banner-9-11-23.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/12\/Perspectives-banner-9-11-23.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":989,"url":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/burma-since-the-1988-uprising\/","url_meta":{"origin":1579,"position":1},"title":"Burma (Myanmar) since the 1988 uprising: A select bibliography, 2nd Edition","author":"Griffith Asia Institute","date":"26 November 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"By Andrew Selth, Griffith Asia Institute, Griffith University PUBLISHED BY: Griffith University ISBN: 9781922216717 PUBLICATION DATE: 2015 Read the digital version of the bibliography A bibliography is never complete. No matter how conscientious the compiler there will always be gaps and scope for additions, particularly to select bibliographies. In this\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;New book&quot;","block_context":{"text":"New book","link":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/category\/publication\/new-book\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2015\/11\/Burma-Bibliography-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2015\/11\/Burma-Bibliography-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2015\/11\/Burma-Bibliography-2.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2015\/11\/Burma-Bibliography-2.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9984,"url":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/the-first-casualty-of-war-is-the-truth-myanmar-casualty-statistics-may-be-skewed\/","url_meta":{"origin":1579,"position":2},"title":"The first casualty of war is the truth: Myanmar casualty statistics may be skewed","author":"Griffith Asia Institute","date":"20 September 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"ANDREW SELTH\u00a0 |\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0Since the latest civil war began in Myanmar in 2021, elements of the opposition movement have been making increasingly bold claims about its battlefield successes and the problems facing the military regime. Some of these claims need to be treated very carefully.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Region | Indonesia and Southeast Asia&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Region | Indonesia and Southeast Asia","link":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/category\/indonesia-and-southeast-asia\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Myanmar Armed Forces Day, 2021","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/09\/myanmar-military-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/09\/myanmar-military-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/09\/myanmar-military-2.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/09\/myanmar-military-2.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":10010,"url":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/myanmar-military-nuclear-ambitions-fact-or-fiction\/","url_meta":{"origin":1579,"position":3},"title":"Myanmar military nuclear ambitions: Fact or fiction?","author":"Griffith Asia Institute","date":"28 September 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"ANDREW SELTH\u00a0 |\u00a0 \u00a0 A front page\u00a0story\u00a0in the Sydney Morning Herald in 2009 confidently predicted that within five years Myanmar would have its own nuclear weapon and be capable of producing one atom bomb every year thereafter, if all went according to plan. The story, by two respected Myanmar watchers,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Commentary&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Commentary","link":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/category\/publication\/commentary\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Myanmar pagodas","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/09\/myanmar.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/09\/myanmar.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/09\/myanmar.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/09\/myanmar.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5216,"url":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/wrapping-up-a-remarkable-2018\/","url_meta":{"origin":1579,"position":4},"title":"Wrapping up a remarkable 2018","author":"Griffith Asia Institute","date":"14 December 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"CAITLIN BYRNE\u00a0 | The year began, for me at least, in New Delhi as part of Australian Government delegation to the Raisina Dialogue (India\u2019s answer to Singapore\u2019s well established Shangri-La Dialogue). And now, it\u2019s coming to an end in Suva, where I\u2019ll be taking part in a conference on South\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Feature series&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Feature series","link":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/category\/publication\/feature-series\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/12\/Caitlin-Christmas.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/12\/Caitlin-Christmas.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/12\/Caitlin-Christmas.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/12\/Caitlin-Christmas.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9937,"url":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/wagner-chief-prigozhin-reportedly-killed-but-has-putin-cooked-his-own-goose\/","url_meta":{"origin":1579,"position":5},"title":"Wagner chief Prigozhin reportedly killed, but has Putin cooked his own\u00a0goose?","author":"Griffith Asia Institute","date":"29 August 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"MATTHEW SUSSEX\u00a0| Perhaps the most unexpected thing about the plane crash that reportedly\u00a0killed\u00a0Yevgeny Prigozhin, the bombastic head of Russia\u2019s infamous Wagner group, is that it happened a full two months after he brought Russia to what President Vladimir Putin warned at the time was the brink of\u00a0civil war. Prigozhin certainly\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Commentary&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Commentary","link":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/category\/publication\/commentary\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Vladimir Putin and Yevgeny Prigozhin.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/08\/putin-prigozhin.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/08\/putin-prigozhin.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/08\/putin-prigozhin.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/08\/putin-prigozhin.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"featured_image_thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/04\/rats-of-rangoon-article-feature-banner.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1579","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1579"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1579\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1641"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1579"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1579"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1579"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}