China nervous as Burma starts to look West

An interesting story, seems the US has finally woken up to the ties between Burma and China and is trying to drive a wedge between them. What goes unsaid and is no doubt the main reason for US interest in Burma is that China was starting to use Burma as it's Indian Ocean port for its navy. As it stands China has no aircraft carrier battle groups, so it can only project military power in the North Pacific from home ports, but with access to Burma China can project into the increasingly significant Indian Ocean and its strategic sea trade routes.

Thilawa naval base, Yangoon, Burma (image from Google maps)

Chinese naval ship at Thilawa naval base

From The Sydney Morning Herald:

Signs of reform have prompted Hillary Clinton to make a historic visit to the poorest nation in south-east Asia, writes Lindsay Murdoch.

Aung San Suu Kyi stood before almost a million people outside Rangoon's gold-encrusted Shwedagon pagoda and declared her support for a multi-party democracy, defying the military dictators who had turned Burma into an impoverished pariah state over three decades of brutal misrule.

Clinton's three-day visit will not only open reclusive Burma to intense international scrutiny but will also place the country at the centre of the competing regional interests of the US and China.

A series of reforms by Burma's President, Thein Sein, a former prime minister and general in a previous military junta, have caught most Burma-watchers by surprise.

So far, the government has suspended a controversial Chinese-backed hydro-electric dam project in northern Kachin State, saying the decision was to ''respect the will of the people''. It was one that stunned China, as 90 per cent of the electricity generated at the Myitsone dam was to go across the border to China and Chinese investors were pouring $US3.6 billion into the project.

This came amid a flurry of other changes, including the release of more than 6000 prisoners, the introduction of more liberal labour laws, less press and internet censorship and a toning down of government propaganda. Last week the parliament also approved a law allowing public protests, which had been banned.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/world/china-nervous-as-burma-starts-to-look-west-20111129-1o58u.html#ixzz1fE1Ce7CY

 From: AlJazeeraEnglish  | Nov 30, 2011