Synergy is a must between Myanmar, China
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Tun Mon Thet (NP News) - Aug 27
The regime changed in Bangladesh. The ousted Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina disclosed that the United States is crouching to grab St. Martin Island – which was owned by Myanmar in the long bygone history, later turned into a disputed territory between Myanmar and Bangladesh in some recent years. The island’s strategic location caught the US to establish an airbase or military base on it with an ultimate aim to control the Bay of Bengal maritime territory.
That is not a new alert for the South Asian countries, China and India. The US’ interest in the island is a broader strategy and a surveillance spot to counter China, India, and Myanmar.
Another strategically important island with proximity to the western entrance of the Malacca Strait is the Coco Archipelago – owned by Myanmar – located between the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea with a direct linkage to the Indian Ocean. The armies of the British, Portuguese, and French in the colonial era of back to centuries ago repeatedly clashed over the control of the Coco Archipelago of Myanmar for the same strategic reasons.
Learning from the past lessons, Myanmar’s 2008 Constitution does not allow any foreign military base within the territory of the Union. Section 42 (b) of the 2008 Constitution states: “No foreign troops shall be permitted to be deployed in the territory of the Union.” This constitutional provision testifies to the steadfast commitment of Myanmar, especially the Tatmadaw (Myanmar Military), to remaining an all-weather friend to China since decades ago.
“If the Malacca Strait is blockaded for China in the maritime trade route when it attempts to reunification with Taiwan; and also, if any control is happened in the East and South China Seas, Myanmar is the solution for China. Myanmar is not only the exit to the Indian Ocean for China. But also, the energy and resources can be transported easily from the Middle East through Myanmar. Therefore, maintaining the stability of Myanmar and the friendly relations with Myanmar is the strategic interest for China,” U Thein Tun Oo, executive director of the Thayninga Institute for Strategic Studies remarks.
Once again, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing reiterated that Myanmar does not accept any actions that will harm the interests of China through Myanmar when he met with Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi in Naypyidaw last week. Still, Myanmar has persistently stood for the One China Policy in every circumstance of changing global and regional politics.
Because of such tenacious policy and exercises of Myanmar and the Tatmadaw and the preserving the status of an all-weather friend to China, the Southeast Asian country and its people have been suffering from the West’s offenses, assaults, humiliations, Human Rights violations, and aggressions for very long decades in the US’ employing a gray zone strategy to thwart China from emerging as a threat to US dominance – the China Containment.
Thus, returning Myanmar to the state with peace, tranquility, and Union Sovereignty is such an imperative for the power balancing in the regional and global security engagement. Without restoring or boosting the strength and power of the Myanmar Union Government or the Tatmadaw, situations will go compromising with the US-backed armed forces in the country. In other words, it is allowing dealing with the US satellite entities such as NUG and the PDF terrorists – which China won’t definitely be happy with.
The Chinese FM Wang Yi highlighted three red lines in his informal talk with Laos, Myanmar, and Thailand as the sideline of the 9th Lancang-Mekong Cooperation FM meeting. It is truly welcome. And it is respectful care by the China on Myanmar issue as the role of mediating by underlining “no more civil war in the country”, “Myanmar’s existential in the ASEAN”, and “no external infiltration should be allowed”.
Wang Yi also received and met with Julie Bishop, special envoy of the secretary-general of the United Nations for Myanmar, in Beijing on 20 August where the Chinese FM spoke again about Myanmar to respect Myanmar’s sovereignty, independence, national unity, and territorial integrity; for achieving political reconciliation and lasting peace and stability, the Chinese Embassy in Myanmar released the information.
“China supports Myanmar's efforts towards an early political reconciliation within the constitutional framework,” said Wang Yi in Naypyidaw on 14 August.
There are many to be managed and resolved in order to restore the country to normalcy. The current territorial status quo under previous superficial-style agreements isn’t acceptable despite the ceasefire. Seizing the territories by armed assaults in time of the central government has its hands full with dealing with many issues and crisis is merely an illicit seizure of the town.
Racist and ethnocentric Kokang armed forces (MNDAAs) showed and published photos of their administering Lashio – the capital of northern Shan State – as part of the Shan State Special Region No. 1 on 20 August after the Northeast Command was defeated on 3 August. As a matter of fact, the racist MNDAAs brutally killed many civilians, especially Bamar ethnics, in their fights to occupy Lashio and Laukkai.
Self-administered Zones or autonomous regions cannot be developed this way. It totally contradicts the 2008 Constitution. Establishing self-administered zones or autonomous regions has to be approved by the parliament (Hluttaw), not by the military assaults.
“The acts of Kokang MNDAAs aren’t democratic or federal issues nor opposing the military dictatorship. It is expanding their territories by using military power. The ethnic armed organizations cannot occupy the lands within the Myanmar territory by using arms,” Than Lwin Htun, an experienced journalist, wrote on his Facebook. He also remarks “It is the fault or the weakness of the Myanmar Tatmadaw failing to protect the provisions of the 2008 Constitution.”
Restoring Myanmar to its normalcy involves returning the lands and territories that were forcibly and militarily confiscated by the ethnocentric armed forces back to the Union Government into the Union territory, under Myanmar national flag, that existed as per the map before 2021 political turning point. Only then, could it be in line with the constitution.