Author: Timothy McLaughlin
Affiliation: Hong Kong-based contributing writer at The Atlantic and The Washington Post
Organization/Publisher: The Atlantic
Date/Place: February 22, 2021/USA
Type of Literature: Article
Word Count: 2120
Link: https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2021/02/what-myanmars-coup-means-china/618101/
Keywords: China, Myanmar, Military Coup
Brief:
Following the 1st February 2021 military coup in Myanmar, Western countries reacted to the coup by cutting off contact and imposing further economic sanctions, and neighboring southeast Asian countries are demanding stability in Myanmar. China, as Myanmar’s largest neighbor, keeps a cozy relationship with the junta military. When Myanmar’s generals warily opened up the country a decade ago, China’s monopoly over Myanmar was challenged as others renewed diplomatic ties and foreign investment came. Hence, the popular assumption now could be that the military’s return to power in the country is a good outcome for China. In southeast Asia, the presence of democracy is often considered as a bad and dangerous condition for China; and when a country in southeast Asia makes any decision based on the people’s will, America always joins the discussion glorifying its presence. But the author rejects this assumption that China ‘wins’ under authoritarianism and ‘loses’ under democracy. He gives the examples of democratically elected Philippines President, Rodrigo Duterte, who has a close relation with Beijing. Whereas, a junta-backed government in Thailand remains a strong ally with Washington. Furthermore, the author claims that such assumption is an oversimplification of what has happened in Myanmar and ignores several factors, such as how the destabilizing situation of the coup will badly affect a dozen Chinese-backed projects worth billions of dollars in the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor. The Burmese military’s junta leader personally distrusts China, in contrast to the friendly relationship China cultivated with the National League for Democracy (NLD) and leader Aung San Suu Kyi, a relationship that has been built over the past five years which may now be in vain.
By: Salman Nugraha, CIGA Research Intern
