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%T The vexing strategic tug-of-war over Naypyidaw: ASEAN's view of the Sino-Burmese ties %A Chachavalpongpun, Pavin %J Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs %N 1 %P 97-114 %V 31 %D 2012 %K Burma; community-building; 1950-2011 %@ 1868-4882 %= 2012-06-25T11:38:00Z %~ GIGA %> https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:gbv:18-4-5146 %X This article argues that ASEAN’s policy toward Myanmar has been predominantly responsive, dictated by China’s activism in the region. It posits three arguments: First, that the release of political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi, may have been a tactical move to convince ASEAN to award it the 2014 chairmanship and thereby consolidate the legitimacy of the current regime; second, that Thein Sein’s suspension of the Myitsone Dam was a strategic move intended to please both domestic and ASEAN constituencies; and third, that Myanmar’s chairmanship of ASEAN in 2014 will help justify the organisation’s past approach to Burma as well as accelerate the process of community-building. The paper argues that in spite of the growing interconnectedness between ASEAN and China, ASEAN is locked in a strategic tug-of-war with China over Myanmar. Myanmar has, on multiple occasions, played upon ASEAN’s suspicion of China by playing the “China card,” as I term it, forcing ASEAN to continually legitimise it through public statements. %C DEU %G en %9 journal article %W GESIS - http://www.gesis.org %~ SSOAR - http://www.ssoar.info