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MYANMAR-CHINA-POLITICS
Myanmar’s Suu Kyi visits China border state as Xi visit looms
MYITKYINA, Myanmar, Jan 10, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – Myanmar leader Aung San Suu
Kyi made a rare trip to a region bordering China days before President Xi
Jinping is expected to push for controversial port and dam projects during a
visit to the country.
Wearing traditional ethnic attire Suu Kyi danced with a street procession
on Friday in northern Kachin state’s capital Myitkyina, a day after
supporters cheered her arrival at the airport.
She urged a crowd of thousands to “focus on the present” and called for
peace in the remote region, where insurgents have clashed with the army over
autonomy and resources.
She did not mention the China-backed Myitsone dam, a $3.6 billion project
halted in 2011 in the face of widespread opposition.
A proposal to reinstate the dam drew thousands of protesters onto the
streets last year.
Myanmar is a vital piece of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, Xi’s $1
trillion vision for maritime, rail and road projects across Asia, Africa and
Europe.
During his two-day visit to the country starting January 17, Xi and top
Myanmar political and military leaders are expected to discuss the
initiative, according to a Friday briefing by China’s Vice Foreign Minister
Luo Zhaohui.
Asked about the dam in Kachin, Luo said the two sides “are still
maintaining close communication on this”.
Suu Kyi was an opponent of the project before her party swept to power in
2015 elections, but in March last year she called on people to consider it
“from a wider perspective”.
An environmental assessment commissioned by the government five years ago
advised against the dam’s construction, saying it could alter the flow of the
Irrawaddy River.
Myitsone is one of several Beijing-backed projects in Myanmar, including a
deep-sea port in Rakhine state’s Kyaukphyu that will serve as China’s gateway
to the Indian Ocean.
Northern Rakhine was the site of brutal military operations against
Rohingya Muslims in 2017 but Kyaukphyu was largely unscathed.
Analysts say Myanmar has drifted closer to Beijing thanks to the Asian
giant’s backing of Suu Kyi over the crisis, which shattered her reputation in
the west even as she remains popular at home.
Xi is also expected to meet army chief Min Aung Hlaing, who has been
accused of overseeing the crackdown against the Muslim minority that drove
more than 740,000 people into neighbouring Bangladesh.
Suu Kyi defended her country against allegations of genocide at the UN’s
top court in The Hague last month in a case that is expected to last years.
BSS/AFP/ARS/1644 hrs