Embattled Myanmar has been President Xi Jinping’s first port of call in the New Year. The event in itself is of considerable geopolitical significance. There was a degree of pregnant symbolism when his aircraft touched down at Naypidaw airport. There are two critical facets to the visit, specifically the billion-dollar charm offensive through the multi-billion-dollar infrastructure deals that are said to be on the anvil to spruce up the economy of a beleaguered nation.
The other underpinning is to boost the morale of Aung San Suu Kyi, Senior Counsellor short of President, most particularly in the aftermath of her appearance at the International Court of Justice in The Hague in connection with the relentless persecution of the Rohingyas. Visuals of Suu Kyi receiving China’s President-forlife testify to the importance to strengthen personal chemistry.
Indeed, Friday’s grandstanding was spectacular. The wide highways and manicured lawns of Naypyidaw, put in place by Generals at the helm of Myanmar’s junta, were dotted with red banners bearing Xi’s face and greetings in Burmese and Mandarin. The tentative agreement on a global trade plan has the potential to dramatically change the economy of Myanmar.
The centrepiece of the so-called China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC) is a $1.3 billion deep-sea port at Kyaukphyu in central Rakhine state, giving Beijing a gateway to the Indian Ocean. The choice of Rakhine, bordering Bangladesh, is significant both in terms of the economy and the Rohingya factor.
A highspeed rail link is on the cards to connect the port and the proposed industrial zone with the shared border of the two countries. China is an economic lifeline for Myanmar not merely because of its geographical proximity to India. Bilateral trade was worth $16.8 billion last year and Beijing holds the largest share ~ around $4 billion or 40 per cent ~ of Myanmar’s foreign debt.
Billions of cubic metres of gas and millions of barrels of oil from offshore rigs are pumped each year across the country into China. It would be no exaggeration to suggest that Myanmar’s relationship with China will be a crucial factor over the next few decades. It is a measure of the significance of the visit that in an oped piece in Myanmar’s state-run media last week, President Xi said China supports Myanmar in “safeguarding its legitimate rights and interests and national dignity”.
Equally, China shields Myanmar at the United Nations, where pressure is mounting for accountability over the Rohingya crisis. Suu Kyi has personally defended her government. Rated as the worst humanitarian crisis since World War II, there is no indication of an essay towards a settlement during Xi Jinping’s visit. As Myanmar lunges from crisis to crisis, Friday’s grandstanding at Naypidaw airport ought not to overshadow man’s inhumanity to man. Will Mr Xi be able to convince Suu Kyi and the junta? Will he even try?