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As I see it | Myanmar crisis requires Beijing to lead – and work with Washington
- Deteriorating situation demands a collective response, and China and the United States should step up
- Chinese interests in the strategically important Myanmar could be damaged by a failure to act
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The situation in Myanmar took a drastic turn for the worse when more than 100 protesters were killed by security forces on Saturday, the deadliest day since the February 1 coup. The junta’s ruthless crackdown on mass anti-coup demonstrators has killed more than 500 people since the takeover, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.
Thousands have fled to seek refuge in neighbouring Thailand after the military regime launched weekend air strikes on ethnic minority forces near the border.
The crisis calls for collective intervention, and real leadership. The United Nations Security Council is to meet on Wednesday; its previous meetings have condemned the violence and called for the release of ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, but stopped short of imposing sanctions or even labelling it a coup, largely because of China’s objection.
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Over 100 killed in bloodiest crackdown on Myanmar’s anti-coup protesters
Over 100 killed in bloodiest crackdown on Myanmar’s anti-coup protesters
Now is the time for the world’s two mightiest countries to show resolve. China and the United States should demonstrate that despite their differences, they are capable of jointly getting things done, such as reining in the junta’s brutal insanity and halting a humanitarian catastrophe. Admittedly, given hostile US-China relations, it is hard to feel hopeful.
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Sanctions by the US, the European Union, Britain and Canada over alleged human rights abuses in Xinjiang have put China in a tight corner, and Beijing’s inking of a 25-year economic and security agreement with Washington’s arch-enemy Tehran is a show of defiance.
But in Myanmar, it is not only possible but necessary for Beijing to step in, not necessarily publicly, and help Washington send a warning to the junta. Not doing so could damage Beijing’s interests in the strategically located Myanmar, China’s dwindling international image and relations with its neighbours.
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Not surprisingly, China does not see eye to eye with the US on Myanmar. Beijing is probably less worried about the reversal of Myanmar’s democratisation than most Western nations. Although Beijing may not approve of the military takeover, it has argued for years against democracy.
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