ABSTRACT
Myanmar, then known as Burma, is a medium-sized state located in a reasonably volatile part of the world between India, China and the former Indo-China. Myanmar gained full independence from the UK on 4 January 1948 and followed socialist ideology until the collapse of the Burma Socialist Program Party (BSPP) in 1988. On 18 September 1988, a military junta, the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) seized power and has remained in control of the country ever since. A key to this constant turmoil is the profits of the opium trade more than half the world's supply is grown in the Golden Triangle, which comprises adjacent sections of Burma, Laos and Thailand. Myanmar is enmeshed in a catalogue of elements of the macropolitical agenda: narcotics, AIDS, refugees, conflict and environmental issues. Membership of ASEAN, announced on 23 July 1997, appears to have caused little amelioration. Although there are boundary problems, virtually all of the issues in Myanmar are generated.
