B.RAMAN
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.
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.”( 24-11-12)
(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)
