China Accuses US Scholar of Espionage, Confirms Arrest

China’s foreign ministry has confirmed the arrest of U Min Zin, a US scholar specializing in Myanmar affairs. The scholar is accused of spying and endangering Chinese national security. U Min Zin, who is the executive director at the Myanmar Institute for Strategic and Policy Studies (ISP-Myanmar), a Thailand-based think tank, was reportedly apprehended in Kunming, a city in southwestern China that shares a border with Myanmar.

Sources indicate that U Min Zin disappeared on June 3rd while at the Kunming airport, apparently en route to attend a conference in Kathmandu. His family has expressed concern and is reportedly liaising with the US consulate in Guangzhou.

This arrest is considered unusual, as detentions of US citizens on such serious charges by China are not commonplace. The incident occurs shortly after US President Donald Trump’s visit to Beijing and ahead of an expected visit to China by Myanmar’s President Min Aung Hlaing. Beijing maintains close ties with Myanmar’s military junta, which seized power in a 2021 coup.

U Min Zin has a history of activism, having been involved in Myanmar’s 1988 pro-democracy movement before fleeing to Thailand and later pursuing studies in the United States. He returned to Myanmar in 2010 and is also a PhD student at the University of California Berkeley.

His think tank, ISP-Myanmar, focuses on China’s influence and interests within Myanmar. Further details surrounding the arrest and the specific evidence of espionage remain undisclosed.

This story was reported by Nile Post.