By Robert J Saiget
AFP
China appears to have renewed their courting of the regime, paying uneconomic prices for gas exploration to successfully outbid India
BOOMING China needs energy and that means it needs Myanmar, observers say - a lucky break for the ruling generals, who have been able to ignore global outrage thanks to staunch support from Beijing.
As the international community lined up to denounce the junta for its bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protests led by Buddhist monks two months ago, China supported a UN statement of condemnation but took no tougher action. Beijing has stuck to its policy of non-interference in Myanmar’s affairs, repeatedly calling for stability followed by democratic progress, and insists that international sanctions against the regime are not the answer.
That is the message Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao will deliver to Southeast Asian leaders next week at their summit in Singapore, a meeting expected to focus on the situation in the former Burma. But observers say that China’s call for democratic change is compromised by its significant investments in resource-rich Myanmar’s energy reserves - and its desire to keep rival India from gaining better access to them.
Another key reason for China’s unwillingness to talk tough is that the communist rulers in Beijing would not like to see a democratic uprising or political chaos in a neighbouring country. “I don’t think there is any change in substantive issues in the Chinese stand on Burma,” R. Hariharan, a Myanmar expert at the Chennai Centre for Chinese Studies in India, told AFP.
“With the junta playing up the energy issue in developing closer relations with India, China appears to have renewed their courting of the regime, paying uneconomic prices for gas exploration to successfully outbid India,” he said. “The energy business is almost fully in Chinese pockets.” Beijing invests heavily in the development of Myanmar’s energy and natural gas sectors - resources it needs to fuel its juggernaut economy - and is a major supplier of weapons to the impoverished military-run nation.
Bilateral trade climbed nearly 50 percent in the first eight months of the year to be worth 1.08 billion dollars, according to official Chinese data. Beijing views Myanmar as strategically important, as it is a gateway to the Indian Ocean. It also needs the military regime’s help to stamp out the drugs trade across their shared 2,100-kilometre border, Hariharan noted.
“China’s position has changed a little bit, but not much - it is asking for democratic change in Burma and wants dialogue between the junta and the opposition,” said Min Win, a lecturer at Chiang Mai University in Thailand. “But China doesn’t want change, in the sense it does not want to see outside pressure on Burma or the military. China fears that if a new government is formed in Burma, it will lose its influence to the West.”
Ahead of Wen’s trip to Singapore, during which he will meet with ASEAN leaders and counterparts from other Asian powers, assistant foreign minister He Yafei said stability in Myanmar remained China’s primary concern. “We have repeatedly said that we will help Myanmar achieve stability, democracy and development,” He told journalists. “Our primary goal is to see stability in Myanmar - we can never allow chaos in Myanmar. We cannot allow Myanmar to turn into another Iraq. No matter what other countries think, China’s position on this is very firm.”
Next week’s ASEAN summit will be followed by the East Asia Summit, where Southeast Asian leaders will be joined by their counterparts from Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea.
Any statement on Myanmar from that meeting is seen as carrying additional weight, given China and India’s involvement. UN envoy Ibrahim Gambari has described China’s role during the crisis as “helpful”.
The Chinese minister said the recent meeting between detained opposition leader Aung Sang Suu Kyi and the junta’s liaison showed that Myanmar was moving in the right direction following September’s violence, and becoming more stable. “The international community should be encouraged by this,” He said.
BOOMING China needs energy and that means it needs Myanmar, observers say - a lucky break for the ruling generals, who have been able to ignore global outrage thanks to staunch support from Beijing.
As the international community lined up to denounce the junta for its bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protests led by Buddhist monks two months ago, China supported a UN statement of condemnation but took no tougher action. Beijing has stuck to its policy of non-interference in Myanmar’s affairs, repeatedly calling for stability followed by democratic progress, and insists that international sanctions against the regime are not the answer.
That is the message Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao will deliver to Southeast Asian leaders next week at their summit in Singapore, a meeting expected to focus on the situation in the former Burma. But observers say that China’s call for democratic change is compromised by its significant investments in resource-rich Myanmar’s energy reserves - and its desire to keep rival India from gaining better access to them.
Another key reason for China’s unwillingness to talk tough is that the communist rulers in Beijing would not like to see a democratic uprising or political chaos in a neighbouring country. “I don’t think there is any change in substantive issues in the Chinese stand on Burma,” R. Hariharan, a Myanmar expert at the Chennai Centre for Chinese Studies in India, told AFP.
“With the junta playing up the energy issue in developing closer relations with India, China appears to have renewed their courting of the regime, paying uneconomic prices for gas exploration to successfully outbid India,” he said. “The energy business is almost fully in Chinese pockets.” Beijing invests heavily in the development of Myanmar’s energy and natural gas sectors - resources it needs to fuel its juggernaut economy - and is a major supplier of weapons to the impoverished military-run nation.
Bilateral trade climbed nearly 50 percent in the first eight months of the year to be worth 1.08 billion dollars, according to official Chinese data. Beijing views Myanmar as strategically important, as it is a gateway to the Indian Ocean. It also needs the military regime’s help to stamp out the drugs trade across their shared 2,100-kilometre border, Hariharan noted.
“China’s position has changed a little bit, but not much - it is asking for democratic change in Burma and wants dialogue between the junta and the opposition,” said Min Win, a lecturer at Chiang Mai University in Thailand. “But China doesn’t want change, in the sense it does not want to see outside pressure on Burma or the military. China fears that if a new government is formed in Burma, it will lose its influence to the West.”
Ahead of Wen’s trip to Singapore, during which he will meet with ASEAN leaders and counterparts from other Asian powers, assistant foreign minister He Yafei said stability in Myanmar remained China’s primary concern. “We have repeatedly said that we will help Myanmar achieve stability, democracy and development,” He told journalists. “Our primary goal is to see stability in Myanmar - we can never allow chaos in Myanmar. We cannot allow Myanmar to turn into another Iraq. No matter what other countries think, China’s position on this is very firm.”
Next week’s ASEAN summit will be followed by the East Asia Summit, where Southeast Asian leaders will be joined by their counterparts from Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea.
Any statement on Myanmar from that meeting is seen as carrying additional weight, given China and India’s involvement. UN envoy Ibrahim Gambari has described China’s role during the crisis as “helpful”.
The Chinese minister said the recent meeting between detained opposition leader Aung Sang Suu Kyi and the junta’s liaison showed that Myanmar was moving in the right direction following September’s violence, and becoming more stable. “The international community should be encouraged by this,” He said.
1 comment:
Oh good, it looks like everything is cool once more.
I hope people will stop dragging religion into politic. I can't stand it, and I fully understand why all commies banned religion in the beginning of their reign.
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