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The nature and management of Myanmar’s alignment with China: the SLORC/SPDC years
Die Art und das Management der Beziehungen von Myanmar zu China
[journal article]
Abstract Recent research has focused increasingly on the strategies that Southeast Asian countries have adopted vis-à-vis a rising China. This article aims to contribute to the literature by discussing Myanmar's alignment posture towards China under the post-September 1988 military regime. In particular, the... view more
Recent research has focused increasingly on the strategies that Southeast Asian countries have adopted vis-à-vis a rising China. This article aims to contribute to the literature by discussing Myanmar's alignment posture towards China under the post-September 1988 military regime. In particular, the purpose is to specify and explain the nature and management of this alignment. The argument is as follows: first, during the two decades of SLORC/SPDC (State Law and Order Restoration Council/ State Peace and Development Council) rule, Myanmar sought only limited alignment with China, focused primarily on diplomatic support and protection, with only a moderate record of bilateral defence and security cooperation. Second, Myanmar's alignment with China after 1988 was shaped by at least three important factors: the core principles of the country's previous foreign policy after colonial rule, a deeply embedded sense of nationalism among the military elite, and Burma's Cold War interaction with China. Third, in managing its alignment with China over the last decade, the SPDC avoided compromises perceived as unpalatable in return for the promise of diplomatic protection and instead 'rewarded' Beijing by consenting to economic and infrastructure projects that were considered to advance the regime’s interest in either generating state revenue or contributing to the consolidation and expansion of control over state territory. The SPDC also pushed Beijing into reconsidering its position on the sensitive issue of armed ethnic groups in the Sino-Myanmar border region. The Myanmar case thus shows that lesser powers can obtain security benefits from a major power without this necessarily requiring more than limited alignment or entailing a serious erosion of political autonomy, particularly when the former possesses valuable natural resources and enjoys considerable geo-strategic significance for the latter.... view less
Keywords
bilateral relations; international relations; Myanmar; foreign policy; security; power; nationalism; Southeast Asia; Far East; pressure-group politics; power politics; China; cooperation; sovereignty
Classification
International Relations, International Politics, Foreign Affairs, Development Policy
Method
descriptive study
Free Keywords
Political Sciences; economics; Burma; hedging; alignment; 2000-2011
Document language
English
Publication Year
2011
Page/Pages
p. 105-140
Journal
Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs, 30 (2011) 2
ISSN
1868-4882
Status
Published Version; peer reviewed
Licence
Creative Commons - Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works