An “outpost of tyranny” is how former US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice described the political regime in Burma/Myanmar1 during her time in office. This negative assessment of Myanmar’s political situation is widely shared by the West, meaning primarily the US and Europe, where the media and civil society are closely following developments in the country. While human rights organizations and civil society groups in Asia share this critical assessment, Asian governments are restrained in their criticism of Myanmar’s political regime.