World News | China wants instability in Myanmar: Southeast Asia expert Betil Lintner

New Delhi [India]July 5 (ANI): China wants the situation in Myanmar to be unstable and wants to continue to be the main controller of politics in the Southeast Asian country, senior journalist and regional expert Betil Lintner said on Monday.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi arrived in Myanmar on Saturday for a regional meeting that the opposition sees as a violation of peace efforts. On his first visit to China since the military took power, Wang Yi will focus on securing Beijing’s long-term interests.

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Rights groups say the overall human rights situation in Myanmar has deteriorated after the military staged a coup on February 1, 2021. The nationwide crackdown on millions protesting against his rule since the military took over has sparked condemnation from several UN agencies that say the country’s military operations have led to many war crimes.

Responding to a question about China’s role in the ongoing unrest in Myanmar, Lintner told ANI that China certainly has a role in Myanmar, but he would not call it “constructive”. He argues that the Chinese are comfortable with the military in power, but they also play the game on a different level.

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“China certainly played a role in Myanmar, but I wouldn’t call it constructive… The Chinese are comfortable with the military in power, but they also play the game at different levels, such as supporting the United Wa State The army in turn delivers Chinese-made weapons to the Kokang, Shan and Palang rebels,” he said.

“It is often argued that the Chinese are interested in stability and abhor chaos. It may be true that they don’t want chaos, but a degree of instability, and then instability that they control, is in their long-term interest: to be part of Myanmar politics. The main controller,” he added.

In post-coup Burma, Southeast experts believe that China’s main interest in Burma is geostrategic. “As I said above, it is not in India’s interest to see a Chinese vassal state (with Pakistan in the west) on its eastern border,” Lintner said.

India shares an approximately 1,700-kilometer-long border with the country and has in the past stressed the need for Myanmar to restore democracy as soon as possible.

In December last year, the then Indian Foreign Minister Harsh Vardhan Shringra emphasized during his visit that all violence should be stopped and peace and stability in the border areas should be maintained.

“Any development in the country will have direct impact on India’s border areas. Peace and stability in Myanmar remain crucial for India, especially in its northeast,” he said.

Lintner stressed that India should play a more active role in Myanmar as it is in New Delhi’s interest to do so.

Emphasizing that Myanmar is India’s gateway to Southeast Asian markets, he said insurgent groups conduct cross-border insurgents, with sanctuaries on the Myanmar side of the border, from where they occasionally attack India.

“It is not in India’s interest to have a Chinese client country on its eastern border, India needs energy and a free and stable Myanmar can provide India with hydropower and natural gas,” he said. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from the Syndicated News feed, the body of the content may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)