A critical moment for journalism in Southeast Asia

As part of efforts to strengthen cross-border media networks between Southeast Asia and Japan, the Sasakawa Peace Foundation (SPF) and the Foreign Press Center Japan (FPCJ) co-organized an event entitled “One Year from the Myanmar Military Coup and Three Months before the Philippines’ Presidential Election: The Situation Facing the Media in Southeast Asia.” This online event welcomed a panel of distinguished journalists from Myanmar, the Philippines, Cambodia, Malaysia, and Japan.

“Tightening restrictions on freedom of the press pose a threat to democracy,” said Dr. Atsushi Sunami, president of SPF, in his opening remarks, setting the stage for lively discussions about the escalating challenges facing independent media outlets as well as areas for potential cooperation to preserve the integrity of the free press. 

View the full seminar video, provided by FPCJ ≫

To begin the event, Mr. Aung Zaw, founder and editor in chief of the Irrawaddy, provided an assessment of the media in Myanmar one year after the military seized power in February 2021.
 
Mr. Zaw launched the Irrawaddy in 1993 with a group of journalists living in exile, creating the first independent media to be published in Burmese and English. The Irrawaddy opened a new office in Yangon in 2012, only to be forced back into exile after the military coup in 2021.
 
“Since the coup, [journalists] became enemies of the state and we are treated like criminals,” said Mr. Zaw, who currently lives and works in Thailand.

While Mr. Zaw estimates that over 3,000-4,000 journalists, including his colleagues at the Irrawaddy, still report from inside the country at extreme risk, countless others have left the field for fear of arrest. In the information vacuum left behind, Mr. Zaw pointed to evidence that reporters backed by the military set up websites and social media accounts to seize control of the narrative online, while opposition groups mobilized to spread their own information.
 
As a result, the reporters at the Irrawaddy “have to triple our work and due diligence if we want to produce actual facts and information,” explained Mr. Zaw, underscoring a fundamental challenge facing independent journalists in the country.
 
Beyond the media landscape, Myanmar as a whole is also under increasing social and economic strain. The fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic compounding on top of the military coup has left millions unemployed and caused the price of essential goods to skyrocket, resulting in widespread food insecurity.
 
However, Mr. Zaw noted that the military coup had the unintended impact of unifying the resistance movement within Myanmar. In addition to the reporters working in the country, he pointed to examples of the civil disobedience movement (CDM) including a so-called “silent strike” to protest military control, and the People’s Defense Forces (PDF). Further, donation movements spanning the vast diaspora of Burmese workers living outside of the country has lent support to these resistance movements.
 
Looking to the future, Mr. Zaw said he will be watching the response of the international community and regional organizations, particularly ASEAN with Cambodia as chair this year. “Myanmar is not a domestic issue – it’s a regional issue. It brings instability to the region, and it’s everyone’s problem,” he said.

With the presidential election only months away, Ms. Chay Hofileña, founder and managing editor of Rapper, provided an overview of the current media and political landscape in the Philippines. “What we are seeing is a very divided country. There's factionalism across social and economic classes, and we are seeing a very painful and gradual decline in democracy,” she warned.
 
According to Ms. Hofileña's analysis, candidate Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., son of former president and dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr., is far ahead in the polls, which show him at 53% of the vote, more than double the nearest competitor. Ms. Hofileña argued that one of the reasons Marcos is ahead is because his campaign was able to deploy strategic efforts to influence the narrative online, particularly on social media.

Ms. Hofileña also pointed to larger trends of commenters online overwhelming the public discourse, ultimately undermining the credibility of journalists and undercutting the media’s role as a watchdog. In Rappler’s case, she described commenters using hashtags labelling the media as fake news, hacks, or “presstitutes,” flooding the outlet’s comment sections and social media in an attempt to discredit their reporting.
 
“It’s very difficult for legitimate media to fight back because we have to focus on stories, we have to focus on election issues and we’re not really trained to just fight trolls. It’s a total waste of time and effort,” she said.

A common theme that emerged throughout the event was the pressure facing professional media outlets through both direct government interference as well as indirect obstruction tactics using the country’s legal system.
 
“What we are really seeing, and it is also highlighted by these experiences of Rappler and Malaysia and Cambodia, is the weaponization of laws,” argued Gwen Robinson, editor-at-large for Nikkei Asia.
 
The experience of Mr. Steven Gan, editor-in-chief and co-founder of the online outlet Malaysiakini in Malaysia, bears out this assessment. He outlined the many legal actions filed against his organization, including the first ever lawsuit filed by a sitting prime minister against a media organization in Malaysia. These lawsuits have diverted resources away from the newsroom and resulted in fines in the tens of millions of yen following a lengthy appeals process.
 
In Cambodia, similar instances of increasing pressure on journalists has also driven future reporters away from reporting about social issues. Mr. Sothoeuth Ith, media director for the nonprofit organization Cambodian Center for Independent Media (CCIM), noted that many journalists have been forced to leave the profession because they are unable to find positions as media outlets have had their licenses revoked and individual journalists are arrested or facing legal action.
 
“At CCIM, we are trying to train new generation of independent journalists, but there are not enough independent media outlets for them to continue the profession,” he explained. “If you are reporting about social issues or political issues, it is very challenging here for you to survive.”

In light of the immense challenges facing independent media from governments as well as the impact of social media, the panelists all underscored the importance of bolstering cross-regional collaboration to pool resources, amplify the concerns of journalists, and counteract disinformation.
 
Ms. Robinson with Nikkei Asia, while acknowledging the hardships faced by the media, pointed to positive developments as well. “Although there have been shocking events in Cambodia, Myanmar really galvanized the horror of the situation and a lot of media organizations wanted to help,” she said. “One of the best ways the other media organizations and people wanting to help media in this region is really to ensure and fund and improve the quality of legal assistance. This is the new battleground.”

In Rappler’s case, the legal actions taken against the outlet’s CEO and Nobel Laureate Maria Ressa, who was targeted by numerous libel cases, would have driven the organization out of business. “If we alone had to pay her bail, we would have long closed shop because the amounts reached in the millions. The legal support fund was there and there were donations and contributions from even ordinary people and individuals who cared about press freedom,” said Ms. Hofileña.
 
While the panelists conceded that the journalists on the ground have to focus on the daily work of reporting the news, a separate secretariat, perhaps managed outside of the region, would be helpful to amass resources and create opportunities for collective action. For example, Mr. Gan from Malaysia noted that a regional body could provide a specific point of contact to allow for fast action when releasing joint statements.

Other suggestions for support included increased media training, technical support to bolster digital security, and the development of networks of lawyers familiar with legal protections for journalists and media organizations.
 
The panelists also agreed that sharing stories and experiences across the region is critical to promote regional unity and share information about mutual challenges.
 
To meet this pressing need, SPF has worked to deepen collaborative networks of media practitioners across Asia through workshops and exchange events. “Maintaining connections between journalists in Southeast Asia and Japan is critical,” said Akiko Horiba, senior program officer in charge of this project. “We at SPF look forward to taking the lessons from this seminar as we continue discussions about how to support collaborative partnerships in the region.”