Why Myanmar and Laos have been caught up in Trump’s sweeping travel bans

BANGKOK – The inclusion of Myanmar and Laos on a list of countries deemed by the Trump administration to pose terrorist and national security threats to the US prompted immediate double takes from analysts in South-east Asia.

US President Donald Trump issued a proclamation on June 4

banning citizens from 12 countries

, mostly in the Middle East and Africa, from entering the US, reinstating and expanding on one of the most controversial measures from his first term in office. Partial restrictions apply to seven additional countries.