U.S. recalibrates strategy toward Myanmar: Washington seeks to curb Beijing’s influence over the junta and secure access to the region’s rare-earth elements

On November 24, 2025, the Donald Trump administration announced the cancellation of legal protection for refugees from Myanmar, which had been introduced after the 2021 military coup and the start of the civil war.

Washington’s pivot on Myanmar is part of the US strategy to diminish the PRC’s influence in Southeast Asia. For Beijing, Myanmar is a key resource and logistics hub in the Mekong region, connecting Chinese industry with access to rare earth metals, routes between South and Southeast Asia, and gray zones of cyber fraud.

The Donald Trump administration is shifting to transactional diplomacy in relations with the Myanmar junta. The refusal to provide legal protection for refugees and support for Myanmar’s National Unity Government (NUG) is being exchanged for access to rare earth metals, weakening Chinese influence in the Mekong region, and the junta’s assistance in dismantling cybercrime schemes that target US citizens.