America's pivot to Asia must go beyond defence

With natural gas flowing this month through a controversial Chinese-backed pipeline project connecting resource-rich Burma with energy-hungry China, there remains a clear message to the US and others seeking to expand business relations with the once pariah nation.

Reducing attention on what has so far been a successful US "pivot on Burma" would be a mistake, despite continuing concerns over human rights violations and sectarian violence. Certainly, China has not paused.

Even as one controversial Chinese-backed hydropower project remains, at least for now, suspended, investment from China continues to flow in. According to the Chinese Companies Association in Myanmar, total investment between China and Burma has now reached US$20.7 billion, with Chinese businesses employing more than 15,000 local workers. It also said Chinese businesses in Burma have donated US$70 million to meet their corporate social responsibility.

The message is clear. Chinese businesses are here to stay and compete, even as other nations' companies play catch-up. In a landmark visit last November, US President Barack Obama included Burma on his first overseas trip after re-election. His trip, along with the lifting of US and European economic sanctions, was intended to encourage change and "responsible investment", and businesses have been quick to follow with visits of their own.

Last month, on my visit to Yangon, the signs of the so-called US "pivot to Asia" and pivot on Burma were evident.

T-shirts featuring the US president still hang in storefronts, while growing Western engagement can be seen in the form of Coca-Cola billboards, US teachers and volunteers, and numerous American and European business delegations.