| by B.Raman
( November 24, 2012, Chennai, Sri Lanka
Guardian) That was the message that China sought to convey to President Barack
Obama as he completed his eight-hour visit to Yangon (Rangoon) on November
19,2012, during which he met President Thein Sein and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and
addressed the students of the Rangoon University.
 |
The military delegation returned to Naypyidaw on November 19, hours after President Thein Sein and Aung San Suu Kyi had met with Mr. Obama. On the same day, former Brig-Gen Aye Myint Kyu was in Beijing on his first trip as Minister of Culture.
2. Ever since the US and Myanmar started
moving closer to each other last year, the Chinese have been keeping a watchful
eye on the interactions between the leaders of the two countries without any
sign of undue panic that Myanmar was sought to be weaned away from China as
part of the USA’s new Asia policy.
3. President Thein Sein too and his
officers maintained regular military-to-military exchanges with China in order
to reassure Beijing that opening-up to
the US would not be at the expense of traditional close relations with China
and that the Chinese military leadership should have no reason to fear any
dilution of the strategic ties between the two countries, including the
relations between the armed forces of the two countries. Before going to New
York in September 2012 to attend the UN General Assembly session during which
he met Mr.Obama, Mr.Thein Sein took care to visit China.
4. On the day of Mr.Obama’s visit to
Yangon, the “China Daily” had carried an exclusive interview with Mr.Ko Ko
Hlaing, political adviser to President Thein Sein, on Myanmar’s relations with
China. Mr.Ko Ko Hlaing had visited China at the head of a non-governmental
Myanmar delegation sometime before (date not specified) Mr.Obama’s visit to
Yangon, but the interview given by him was carried on the day of Mr.Obama’s
visit.
5.In this interview, the political
adviser to Mr.Thein Sein said that Myanmar cherished the "special"
links with China since ancient times and
would further strengthen and deepen its "time-honoured and
time-tested" friendship during the country's current reforms.
6.He added:
"We were in
isolation for many years and now are opening up, but it will not hamper the
relationship between Myanmar and China. The bilateral relation is a special
one.
“ Myanmar was
one of the first countries to establish diplomatic ties with New China in 1950.
But the two countries' close relationship dates to centuries ago. The ancestors
of people now living in both countries had referred to each other at one time
as "paukphaw", a Myanmar word meaning brothers and sisters.
“The countries'
relationship has remained strong in recent decades, especially during Myanmar's
isolation, a time that it received much assistance from China. China is now the
country's largest investor and trade partner.
"We need to
keep cordial relations with all nations. China is our most important neighbour.
We will never forget that."
7. Commenting on Mr.Obama’s visit a day
after the visit, the “Global Times”, a sister publication of the party-owned
“People’s Daily”, said as follows: “ Some have suggested that Obama's visit was
aimed at weakening China's influence. Such assumptions regarding contests
between great powers and the political changes in Myanmar over the past year
added special meaning to Obama's visit.
“China's
Ministry of Foreign Affairs didn't express any displeasure with the visit, but
said it believed that Sino-Myanmar relations would deepen. This shouldn't
simply be dismissed as diplomatic-speak, but shows China's confidence.
“Myanmar's
democratic reforms and opening up to the West not only satisfy Washington but
are also in China's long-term interests. Most ASEAN countries have democratic
elections and relations with China are not hindered due to differences in
political systems. Myanmar won't become alienated from China simply because of
domestic political adjustments.
“Myanmar's
opening-up was unavoidable. Sino-Myanmar relations must undergo some changes to
adapt to this. But the changes will be limited.
“There is no
possibility that bilateral relations will be overturned entirely. China is the
biggest neighbouring country of Myanmar and has irreplaceable influences on it.
More importantly, such influences are based on equality.
“Myanmar is
becoming open to the West in order to maximize its national interests. But it's
unwise to replace China with the West. Both the current leadership of Myanmar
and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi well know this.
“That said,
Obama's visit may still have an eye toward challenging China's influence. But
the actual effect will be difficult to tell. Obama likes to be applauded for
his efforts in promoting democracy in Myanmar and this merits some reward.
However, the US can't squeeze China out of Myanmar.
“Economically,
Southeast Asian countries are depending on China more than the US, and this
tendency is on the increase. Obama is bringing $170 million in aid to Myanmar.
Unless he can ensure aid is delivered to Myanmar every month, such small amount
of money won't be a significant bargaining chip to change the China-Myanmar
relationship.
“China needs to
adjust to the US's increasing diplomatic actions in the region, but it doesn't
have to overreact. China's fast economic growth and growing domestic market
will translate into a stronger economic driving force in the region. This is
the biggest leverage China has in diplomacy in Southeast Asia.”
8.While commenting on the visit, Foreign
Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said: "President Obama's visit is a
matter between the United States and Myanmar. China and Myanmar are friendly
neighbours, who, on the basis of the five principles of peaceful coexistence,
conducted substantial cooperation in the spirit of equality and reciprocity,
and they have also promoted their strategic partnership of cooperation. The
development of China-Myanmar relations benefits the two peoples, and
contributes to regional peace, stability and prosperity. We are confident in
the in-depth development of bilateral relations."
9. The privately-owned “Irrawaddy
Journal” of Myanmar reported that in the
week prior to Mr. Obama’s visit , two
Myanmar delegations travelled to China to strengthen old military and cultural
ties.
10.A Myanmar military delegation headed
by Tatmadaw (armed forces) Deputy Commander-in-Chief Gen Soe Win visited
China’s largest bi-annual defense exhibition in the southern Chinese coastal
city of Zhuhai on November 13, according to photos circulated on Chinese
microblogs.
11.According to the Journal, the images
showed a delegation with at least three general-ranked officers touring the
Ninth China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition. Chinese state
media has not identified Soe Win and other members of the delegation as
visitors to the armaments trade fair. Similarly, no Myanmar visitors were
mentioned in a detailed list of foreign dignitaries released by the organizers
at the last Zhuhai Airshow in 2010.
12.Two reporters for the “Global Times”
reported in a blog post that the Myanmar delegation “paid careful attention to
the C802/C705/ FL-3000N defense missile system”.The short-range surface-to-air
missile launcher for ships, first revealed at the same airshow in 2008, has
since been employed on China’s first aircraft carrier.
13.On November 14, Soe Win met Gen Ma Xiaotian, Commander of the People’s
Liberation Army Air Force, at his headquarters in Beijing. Both sides expressed their wish to
deepen cooperation in air force technology and training, according to a
statement by the Chinese Ministry of Defense.
14. According to “The Irrawaddy
Journal”, Ma, 63, last visited the
Burmese capital Naypyidaw in September, then as a Deputy Chief of Staff, where
he held talks with incoming Vice-President Nyan Tun, a former Navy chief, and
Commander-in-Chief Vice--Gen Min Aung Hlaing.
15.Ma, a long-time rising star within
the Chinese armed forces, assumed command of the Chinese Air Force in October.
The day before meeting Soe Win, Ma was elevated to the Chinese Communist
Party’s all-powerful Central Military Commission.
16. On November 15, the Myanmar
delegation met with new Vice-Chief of Staff Lieut-Gen Qi Jiangu, and the
outgoing Minister of Defense Gen Liang Guanglie. Thereafter, it travelled to Xi’an, a hub for military aviation, where
they were received by Maj-Gen Lin Miaoxin, political commissar of the Shaanxi
military district, according to a report in the local Shaanxi Daily newspaper.
17.The military delegation returned to
Naypyidaw on November 19, hours after President Thein Sein and Aung San Suu Kyi had met with Mr. Obama. On
the same day, former Brig-Gen Aye Myint Kyu was in Beijing on his first trip as
Minister of Culture.
18. He discussed arrangements for the
2013 Southeast Asian Games to be hosted by Myanmar in December next year with
his Chinese counterpart Cai Wu. In September, both countries had reached an
undisclosed framework agreement on “assistance and support” for the opening and
closing ceremonies through the China Arts and Entertainment Group Ltd., a
state-owned organizer of cultural events. Aye Myint Kyu then met Politburo member Liu Yandong at Zhongnanhai,
the headquarters of the Chinese Communist Party leadership, along with Li Peng,
the head of China’s General Administration of Sport.
19. On November 20,”The PLA Daily”
quoted Liang Guanglie as having told Gen.Soe Win as follows:
“The Chinese
side attaches great importance to the relations between the Chinese and Myanmar
militaries, and is willing to make joint efforts with the Myanmar side to
effectively strengthen strategic communication, constantly deepen pragmatic
cooperation, strive to maintain the stability of the border areas, and further
promote China-Myanmar comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership, so as to
make contributions to maintaining regional peace and stability and promoting
common development.”
20. The PLA Daily quoted Gen.Soe Win as
replying that
China has always
been a reliable good brother, good friend and good partner of Myanmar. Under
the new international and regional situations, the Myanmar side will keep devoting
itself to strengthening the friendly exchanges and pragmatic cooperation
between the two countries and the two militaries, so as to firmly safeguard
common interests of the two countries.
21.According to the PLA Daily, Gen.Qi
Jiangu told Gen. Soe Win as follows:
“The China-Myanmar relations have withstood
tests from the changeable international situations in the past 60-odd years
since the establishment of the diplomatic relations, and the long-term mutual
understanding and mutual support between the two countries have achieved
fruitful accomplishments. The relations between the Chinese People's Liberation
Army (PLA) and the Myanmar Armed Forces are an important component in the
relations between the two countries. The Chinese PLA and the Myanmar Armed
Forces have conducted in-depth and pragmatic communications in terms of
high-level exchange of visits, equipment technological cooperation, personnel
training, border control and so on, which have exerted active effects in
promoting the comprehensive development of the relations between the two
countries.”
(The writer is Additional Secretary (retd),
Cabinet Secretariat, Govt. of India, New Delhi, and, presently, Director,
Institute For Topical Studies, Chennai, and Associate of the Chennai Centre For
China Studies. E-mail: seventyone2@gmail.com
Twitter @SORBONNE75)
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