Myanmar/Burma: Inside Challenges, Outside Interests

7. The Policies of China and India toward Myanmar

113 7 li chenyang The Policies of China and India toward Myanmar Myanmar has the same strategic importance for China and India in both the geopolitical sense and the geoeconomic sense. After the Myanmar military seized power in September 1988, the Chinese and Indian governments both endeavored to expand their influence in Myanmar to protect their national interests. Their policies toward Myanmar had many similarities , but there were also important differences in content and results. This chapter compares the objectives, content, characteristics, process, and results of the policies of China and India toward Myanmar. It assesses the influence of China and India in Myanmar as well as the trend of their relations with Myanmar. Objectives of China’s Policies since 1988 Myanmar has played an important role in China’s foreign policy calculations since the People’s Republic of China was founded in 1949. China’s policy objectives in relation to Myanmar include access to the Indian Ocean, stability along the border it shares with Myanmar, energy security, economic cooperation between the two countries, and its relations with developing nations. These can best be understood by bearing in mind China’s foremost desire to develop peacefully while pursuing its strategic, political, economic, and security objectives. In other words, the objectives of China’s policies toward Myanmar are multidimensional.1 These objectives were formed gradually, with changes and refinements made over the years. 07-0505-5 ch7.indd 113 8/30/10 6:11 PM 114 Li Chenyang Access to the Indian Ocean Located between China, India, and other ASEAN nations, Myanmar is China ’s best shortcut to the Indian Ocean. A core objective of China’s policy toward Myanmar is to establish a strategic route from Yunnan province in southwest China through Myanmar to the Indian Ocean. This route is expected to include a comprehensive set of road, rail, and air connections as well as water, oil, and gas pipelines; it will be crucial to the economic development of southwestern China. According to Voon Phin Keong, the director of the Centre of Malaysian Chinese Studies in Kuala Lumpur, “An outlet on the Indian Ocean would add a new dimension to China’s spatial relations with the world. It would enable China to overcome its ‘single-ocean strategy’ and to realize what would constitute a highly significant plan for a ‘two-ocean strategy.’”2 Many Chinese scholars and officials have urged the government to pursue an Indian Ocean strategy and build international channels to the Indian Ocean, but so far the Chinese government has kept quiet.3 Stability in the Sino-Myanmar Border Areas A peaceful and stable neighborhood is essential for China’s development. The Myanmar-China border is estimated to be 2,204 kilometers long.4 There are more than 40,000 soldiers in relatively independent minority groups in the north and northeast border regions of Myanmar. Moreover, serious nontraditional security issues like smuggling, crime, illegal immigration, environmental degradation, illegal currency circulation, and money laundering exist along the border. These pose challenges to China’s efforts to establish a stable frontier and harmonious region. Energy Security China became a net oil importer in 1993. Its dependence on imported oil reached 50 percent of total oil consumption in 2008, from 29 percent in 2000, and is expected to reach 60 percent by 2020.5 About 80 percent of its imported oil passes through the Malacca Straits, and China’s oil security would be severely threatened if the Malacca Straits were rendered impassable by opposing forces.6 Chinese scholars have advocated importing oil from the Middle East and Africa by pipeline through Myanmar to southwest China. The proven natural gas reserves in Myanmar are about 2.5 trillion cubic meters, which equals China’s own proven natural gas reserves.7 On March 26, 2006, an agreement on the construction of a gas pipeline was signed by the governments of China and Myanmar. The construction of the 07-0505-5 ch7.indd 114 8/30/10 6:11 PM The Policies of China and India toward Myanmar 115 Kyaukphyu wharf began on October 30, 2009. Located on Langley Island in Rakhine state, it is the starting point of the pipelines. The agreement is evidence that energy security cooperation between China and Myanmar has entered an operational phase.8 Economic Cooperation Myanmar is a crucial source of natural resources. Beyond natural gas, Myanmar is rich in hydropower, timber, gems, jade, nonferrous...