Why do China, India back Myanmar over the Rohingya crisis?

Heavy investments in Rakhine state have seen the two countries take a markedly different approach to the Western powers leaning on Suu Kyi’s beleaguered government

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China and India are backing the beleaguered Aung San Suu Kyi government, in contrast to many Western and Islamic governments. Photo: EPA

Published: 11:49am, 18 Oct 2017Updated: 1:34pm, 18 Oct 2017

Their troops may be involved in periodic stand-offs on the disputed Himalayan border and they may be competing for influence in Myanmar, but India and China are on the same page regarding the Rohingya crisis.

Heavily invested in Rakhine state, both Asian powers are giving strong backing to the Myanmar leadership, in contrast to the Western and Islamic countries demanding answers from the beleaguered Aung San Suu Kyi government.

The crackdown on the Rohingya in Rakhine by the Myanmese army – the Tatmadaw – has led to an exodus of half a million refugees into Bangladesh, raising fears of a military conflict.

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina last week claimed Myanmar was trying to provoke a war with her country. Hasina is keen to prevent a trans-border jihadi nexus from taking hold and has offered military help to the Tatmadaw to take on the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), though Myanmar is yet to respond to the offer.

Sheikh Hasina, the prime minister of Bangladesh, addresses the UN headquarters in New York. Photo: EPA

India, too, fears a jihadi nexus. Its intelligence services have reported close links between the ARSA, Bangladesh’s Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen (JMB) and the Indian Mujahideen, all apparently backed by Pakistan’s Lashkar-e-Taiba that New Delhi holds responsible for the 2008 terror strike on Mumbai.

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Why do China, India back Myanmar over the Rohingya crisis?

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Heavy investments in Rakhine state have seen the two countries take a markedly different approach to the Western powers leaning on Suu Kyi’s beleaguered government

Heavy investments in Rakhine state have seen the two countries take a markedly different approach to the Western powers leaning on Suu Kyi’s beleaguered government