"This year?s ASEAN Summit isn?t just for convention junkies. Naypyitaw, not yet officially a decade old, has expanded this week with states-people and their respective entourages flying in from the APEC Summit in Beijing. Watching Naypyitaw prepare for the Summit earlier in the week could prove to be more exciting than the waiting we?re now doing for consensus around the ASEAN table. This week, the Myanmar Police Force are in full swing. Blowing whistles, whirling sirens and flashing blinkers, they?re securing Naypyitaw and its peripheries every hour of the day. While the police force has previously been overshadowed by the armed forces in Myanmar?s turbulent history, the police has evolved as a key instrument of control by the current civilian-military hybrid government. In their blue combat helmets, ankle-high black polished boots, waist belts fastened with state-of-the-art wooden sling-shots and distinctive insignia on their uniforms, the police look the part and are working to prevent criminal activity and terrorist attacks. Stationed throughout Naypyitaw—they are blocking traffic from entering the twelve-lane highway that runs past Myanmar?s National Assembly until Saturday. At intersections, hotels, makeshift gates and even the entrance of the Gem Museum, in all their glory, the police dominate Naypyitaw?s streetscapes this week..."