2022
China & the Myanmar coup
China Supports Myanmar
The United Nations Security Council met on Tuesday but failed to agree on a joint
statement after China did not support it. (Feb 3, 2021)
China continues to advance plans for a complex economic corridor in the country.
● This poses a threat to China, because standing next to the junta puts its
investments at immediate and long-term risk and erodes its standing in regional
organizations. This is because the junta is an army and not a government, and
therefore it is unable to handle economic relations of this type and ensure
stability within the country. Furthermore, other powerful countries are against the
junta and thus collaborating with the junta can be seen in a negative way
● To protect its interests, Beijing should try to make the junta stop its violences
against the population and to restore the elected government.
Reasons
● China’s traditional foreign policy accepts relations with incumbent political actors,
regardless of how they gained power.
● China has been warning since the coup that sanctions or international pressure
would only make things worse in Myanmar.
● Beijing aims to protect China from international scrutiny.
● China benefits strategically from Myanmar's alienation from the west
● Myanmar is China’s greatest trade partner- mutually beneficial coexistence: the
junta tries to buy China’s support and recognition through new bilateral projects,
while China aims to create a safety net for its long-term interests in the country.
● Personal interest (realism): it is concerned with security along their shared
border, implementation of the multi-million China-Myanmar Economic Corridor
(CMEC), and acquiring a strong position in the Indian Ocean.
Proof that China only cares for its economic relations: Chinese enterprises and assets
in Myanmar were subjected to attacks by anti-coup forces. The first of them started in
March 2021, just one month after the coup (eg. in Yangon several garment factories
were attacked). As a result, Beijing held an emergency meeting with officials from the
Home Affairs and Foreign ministries demanding to ensure the security of the project
(the economic corridor). This was interpreted as a demonstration that the only thing
China cares about is projects, because it didn’t focus on the people’s security.
China & the Myanmar coup
China Supports Myanmar
The United Nations Security Council met on Tuesday but failed to agree on a joint
statement after China did not support it. (Feb 3, 2021)
China continues to advance plans for a complex economic corridor in the country.
● This poses a threat to China, because standing next to the junta puts its
investments at immediate and long-term risk and erodes its standing in regional
organizations. This is because the junta is an army and not a government, and
therefore it is unable to handle economic relations of this type and ensure
stability within the country. Furthermore, other powerful countries are against the
junta and thus collaborating with the junta can be seen in a negative way
● To protect its interests, Beijing should try to make the junta stop its violences
against the population and to restore the elected government.
Reasons
● China’s traditional foreign policy accepts relations with incumbent political actors,
regardless of how they gained power.
● China has been warning since the coup that sanctions or international pressure
would only make things worse in Myanmar.
● Beijing aims to protect China from international scrutiny.
● China benefits strategically from Myanmar's alienation from the west
● Myanmar is China’s greatest trade partner- mutually beneficial coexistence: the
junta tries to buy China’s support and recognition through new bilateral projects,
while China aims to create a safety net for its long-term interests in the country.
● Personal interest (realism): it is concerned with security along their shared
border, implementation of the multi-million China-Myanmar Economic Corridor
(CMEC), and acquiring a strong position in the Indian Ocean.
Proof that China only cares for its economic relations: Chinese enterprises and assets
in Myanmar were subjected to attacks by anti-coup forces. The first of them started in
March 2021, just one month after the coup (eg. in Yangon several garment factories
were attacked). As a result, Beijing held an emergency meeting with officials from the
Home Affairs and Foreign ministries demanding to ensure the security of the project
(the economic corridor). This was interpreted as a demonstration that the only thing
China cares about is projects, because it didn’t focus on the people’s security.
