China’s Myanmar policy: peace, conflict – whatever works

While impressing on State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi the need to keep things peaceful enough for its Belt and Road Initiative to move forward, Beijing is also an implicit backer of some of Myanmar’s most powerful militants

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Representatives attend the third meeting of Myanmar's 21st Century Panglong Peace Conference at the Myanmar International Convention Centre in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 10:32am, 15 Jul 2018Updated: 10:32am, 15 Jul 2018

As Myanmar’s de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi this week sought to make progress on ending decades of civil war by bringing the country’s military and myriad ethnic armed groups to the negotiating table, the influence of Myanmar’s looming neighbour, China, weighed large on proceedings.

Although bringing peace was a campaign promise when Suu Kyi won landmark elections in 2015 and ended decades of absolute military rule, the country has witnessed some of the worst fighting in years since she took office and the stalled government peace process has widely been denounced.

After years-long arms embargo from the US and Europe, Myanmar’s military, which retains sole control of three security ministries according to the constitution, sources the majority of its weapons from China.

Beijing is also playing an increasingly oversized role in the peace process, primarily due to key Myanmar investments within its Belt and Road Initiative, Beijing’s plan to grow global trade, experts say. But in its role, China also blurs lines, acting as both a negotiator and an implicit backer of both the state and some of the country’s most powerful militants.

Aung San Suu Kyi talks with Myanmar's president Win Myint during peace talks in Naypyidaw. Photo: EPA

Beijing has shrewdly exploited the crisis in Myanmar’s western Rakhine state, where 700,000 minority Rohingya Muslims have fled a brutal military crackdown labelled ethnic cleansing by the UN. In doing so, China has positioned itself as an all-weather friend to Myanmar in the face of criticism from Europe and the US.