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Myanmar. All about China ? . Debating Myanmar. A: Peterman ran off to Burma B: Isn’t it Myanmar now ? C: Myanmar…isn’t that the discount pharmacy ? D: An exotic Buddhist land E: Ire of Asia F: A poster child for 21 st Century ills G: Longtime military-ruled country
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Myanmar All about China ?
Debating Myanmar A: Peterman ran off to Burma B: Isn’t it Myanmar now ? C: Myanmar…isn’t that the discount pharmacy ? D: An exotic Buddhist land E: Ire of Asia F: A poster child for 21st Century ills G: Longtime military-ruled country H: A failing, failed state
Debating Myanmar New Economic Frontier – IMF Asian Tiger – UN The last golden destination in SEA – Tran Bac Ha, Vietnamese banker Myanmar is making a lot of the right moves to revitalize its economy – ADB A country is being on a journey – EU’s Catherine Ashton. We fully recognize and embrace the progress that has taken place and we will continue our policy of engagement – Hillary Clinton
พี่ไปพม่ามาหรือยัง ? พม่าเขาเปิดประเทศแล้วนะ มีเลือกตั้งแล้ว เป็นประชาธิปไตยแล้ว มีแก๊ส มีน้ำมัน เขาต้องเจริญกว่าไทยแน่เลย เมืองไทยเรา โอ๊ย ไม่อยากพูดเลย
Myanmar in geo-politics Mainland South East Asia West of China East of India In bay of Bengal Connecting India to South East Asia Connecting China to Indian Ocean
Domestic push Tradition of isolation Political setback Economic downturn Civil war Military suppression
International pull Sanction & blockade Chinese options Asean engagement
Sanction & Blockade US pressure after 1988 EU sanction 1989 US cut off military aid, downgrade relations 1990 Clinton banned all US investment in Myanmar 1997 Asian Financial Crisis 1997 Accession to Asean 1997 Bush sanctions 2003 after another arrest of ASSK
Chinese options 1988 Border trade 1989 Military assistance 1989 First high ranking visit by Than Shwe 1990 Weapon purchasing 1992 Narcotic control pact 1993 the beginning of infrastructure development and investment 1998 Chinese financial support to Myanmar development projects
Chinese options Chinese migration 1998 Chinese media 1998 Chinese boats to sail in Irrawaddy to Yangon 1998 Border special economic zone 2000 2001 High ranking visit by Jiang Zemin visited Myanmar Top foreign investment in Myanmar with $13.947 billion (34.5 % of total FDI)
Chinese options Geo-strategic interest Security interest Supply of raw material Trans-Myanmar oil corridor China's top three oil firms - CNPC, Sinopec Group and CNOOC Ltd - all operate in Myanmar
Asean engagement 1997 Asean member US opposed Flexible engagement 2003 ASSK incident/Asean pressure 2005 Asean chair forego 2007 saffron and Asean stance 2011 decision for 2014 Myanmar Asean Chair 2013 Myanmar SEA Game
Indian reaction 1990 Look East Policy 1991 Stop criticism on Myanmar 1994 More trade, border check point Manipur 2000 Myanmar- India road connection 2010 Than Shwe visited India to talk security and energy
US strategic challenges in Asia • Middle East • Southern tier of former Soviet Union • Growing influence of India and China in Indian Ocean • Maritime power • US • China • India
World engagement • We can’t let Burma become a Chinese province – Sen. Jim Webb (2010) • Sen. Jim Webb/John McCain # Ass. Sec of State Kurt Campbell • Webb visited Than Shwe 2009 • Latest visit before Songkran 2012 • In 2010 Webb at odds with Kurt Campbell how strongly to engage with Myanmar • Hillary Clinton initially inclined to try but ultimately yielded to pressure
Engagement Hillary Clinton visit Suspension of Chinese dam Ease of US sanction/Webb called for more/upgrade of diplomatic ties EU sanction suspension Australia eased financial restriction Japanese debt waived World Bank set up office Full engagement to the world
Myanmar: Where to go ? Drifting away from China "We certainly have an interest in what is happening in Myanmar as it might affect peace and tranquility in our own border area," Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Cui Tiankai (April 25, 2012) China has never seen its friendly and cooperative relationship with Myanmar, or any other country, as excluding the interests of the United States, and we hope the United States also approaches this matter in the same spirit.
A new play ground US China India EU Japan Asean Thailand etc
Thank You Chezutinbade