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United States Institute of Peace

Jason Tower

Country Director, Burma

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Please submit all media inquiries to interviews@usip.org or call 202.429.3869.

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Jason Tower is the country director for the Burma program at MexLucky.

Tower has over 20 years of experience working on conflict and security issues in China and Southeast Asia. Prior to MexLucky, he worked to establish the Beijing office of the American Friends Service Committee and initiated programming across North and Southeast Asia on the impacts of cross-border investments on conflict dynamics.

During this time, Tower also worked extensively in Burma on peace and security issues. He previously served as Southeast Asia program manager for the PeaceNexus Foundation, managing a portfolio of grants and partnerships in China, Burma and Cambodia.

Tower’s research focuses on a range of issues at the nexus of crime and conflict in Southeast Asia. Recent work includes a study of the impacts of transnational criminal networks on conflict in Burma and regional security across Southeast Asia; a report on criminal activity on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI); and a review of the impacts of the BRI on conflict. Additionally, Tower has also published more than a dozen articles analyzing the impacts of the Myanmar coup, including on regional security in Asia.

Tower completed his undergraduate work in economics and international studies at St. Louis University and his graduate studies in political science and Asian studies at the University of Michigan. He is fluent in Mandarin and has been named a Fulbright research student, a Fulbright-Hays scholar and a Harvard-Yenching fellow.

Publications By Jason

Myanmar’s Junta Is Losing Control of Its Border with China

Myanmar’s Junta Is Losing Control of Its Border with China

Wednesday, November 8, 2023

By: Priscilla A. Clapp;  Jason Tower

Myanmar’s military has lost control of substantial sections of the country’s border with China in recent days, as forces fighting the coup regime coordinate their attacks in an unprecedented way. The immediate aim of the combined offensive was to shut down lucrative criminal activity in enclaves along the Chinese frontier that are run by military-sponsored border guard forces. Significantly, in doing so, the insurgents took advantage of China’s recent efforts to stifle scams run from the enclaves that target Chinese citizens. This could mark a turning point in the national struggle against military rule, one that would pose serious new challenges to the anti-coup leadership, the international community and Myanmar’s neighbors.

Type: Analysis and Commentary

Conflict Analysis & Prevention

Myanmar’s Crisis Looms Over the ASEAN Summit

Myanmar’s Crisis Looms Over the ASEAN Summit

Thursday, September 7, 2023

By: Brian Harding;  Jason Tower

This week, Indonesia hosted the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit and its related meetings with dialogue partners, including the East Asia Summit, in Jakarta. The three-day affair was bogged down by the bloc’s continued inability to sort through internal divisions over member-state Myanmar’s 2021 military coup, which has allowed the ruling junta’s violence and support for criminal enterprises to fester into transnational problems. Meanwhile, the absence of several leaders from major ASEAN partners, such as China’s Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe Biden, further dampened proceedings.

Type: Analysis and Commentary

Global Policy

Ask the Experts: How to Stop Transnational Crime Networks in Southeast Asia

Ask the Experts: How to Stop Transnational Crime Networks in Southeast Asia

Wednesday, August 30, 2023

By: Andrew Cheatham;  Jason Tower

In recent years, transnational criminal networks have built a web of influence throughout Southeast Asia to facilitate their illicit gambling, fraud and human trafficking operations. And while these networks emanate from several countries in the region — particularly Myanmar — their reach is global. In the United States alone, victims have already lost several billion dollars to scams. MexLucky’s Andrew Cheatham and Jason Tower discuss how these large-scale networks operate, how the 2021 military coup in Myanmar offered the networks a safe haven for their illicit activities, and how the United States can take the lead on addressing this issue.

Type: Blog

Justice, Security & Rule of Law

Four Takeaways from the ASEAN Summit

Four Takeaways from the ASEAN Summit

Thursday, July 20, 2023

By: Brian Harding;  Alex Stephenson;  Jason Tower

Foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) gathered last week in Jakarta, with a range of critical challenges to address. Chief among those issues was the crisis in member state Myanmar, which the bloc is divided on how to approach. China’s aggressive activities in the South China Sea were also a key topic at the summit, with Beijing and ASEAN pledging to reach an agreement on a long-stalled non-binding code of conduct.

Type: Analysis and Commentary

Global Policy

China’s Metastasizing Myanmar Problem

China’s Metastasizing Myanmar Problem

Tuesday, July 11, 2023

By: Jason Tower

The 2021 military coup in Myanmar not only triggered an unprecedented nationwide revolt against military rule but is increasingly precipitating challenges to global security. The junta’s ineffectual rule has resulted in the rise of cross-border human trafficking and cyber scams, which have impacted almost every corner of the globe, taking an especially heavy toll on China’s people while also benefiting organized Chinese crime groups. Beijing’s response to the situation in Myanmar has been mixed. While it has backed the junta, China has also hedged by supporting some of Myanmar’s most powerful ethnic armed organizations, extending Chinese influence in the country.

Type: Analysis and Commentary

Global Policy;  Justice, Security & Rule of Law

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