As the Burmese military launches its coup, a Burmese citizens’ group has issued a report stating that five Chinese state-owned enterprises, including China North Industries Corporation (NORINCO), China Aviation Industry Corporation (AVIC), China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC) and China Aviation Technology Import and Export Corporation (CATIC), provide arms to the Burmese military and are the They are the main Austrian supporters of the Burmese military.
A report released by the Burmese citizens’ group Justice for Myanmar shows that of the 16 foreign companies supplying conventional arms and related items to the Burmese Defense Force, China accounts for the most, with five, including China North Industries Corporation (NORINCO), China Aviation Industry Corporation (AVIC), China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASIC), and China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CATIC). (AVIC), China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC), and China Aviation Technology Import and Export Corporation (CATIC), followed by India, Israel, Russia, and Singapore with two each, and North Korea and Ukraine with one each.
A spokesman for Justice for Burma, who asked to remain anonymous for security reasons, told the station that China North Industries Corporation (NORINCO) sells arms to the Burmese military, which uses the weapons against the people; the company also operates two copper mines in the region, such as the Lebetang copper mine, which expels the indigenous population and pollutes the environment. Chinese public and private companies are inextricably linked to the Burmese military. “A spokesperson for Justice for Burma cited a UN “fact-finding commission” that said the Burmese military used revenue from trade with China to support the National Defense Force in its war with the Arakan Army in northern Burma and Rakhine State, reporting that The report said that during the firefight between the Burmese National Defense Force and the Rakhine Army, “serious human rights violations” were committed, and the Rohingya, who practice Islam, were forced to kill, and the National Defense Force was exempted from criminal responsibility. The spokesman also told the station that the business of the military and related companies is not subject to audit and parliamentary interference, and the commander-in-chief Min Aung Hlaing’s personal gains are not known to the public. He criticized the same group of people who make decisions and buy and sell, and there is obviously a conflict of interest.
“Justice for Burma has consolidated a list of Burma’s military and business partners based on public information from the Burma Investment and Companies Authority (DICA). According to the report, among the 112 important business partners of the Burmese military, there are 20 companies involving Chinese and Hong Kong funds, including Wanbao Minerals (Hong Kong) Copper Company Limited, which operates the copper mine in Lebetang, Yangzi Mining Company Limited, Yutong Bus, Myanmar Century Liaoyuan Knitting Factory, etc. At least nine of them are textile companies, and the Burmese military mainly works with China in the garment manufacturing trade to obtain profits. These 112 companies, more than 90% of the two major military enterprises with Myanmar MEHL (Myanma Economic Holdings Limited) and MEC (Myanmar Economic Corporation) have business cooperation. According to the UN report, Min Aung Hlaing’s coup was financed by the two major military companies.
Burmese people rally outside the Chinese Communist Embassy in Yangon recently, holding signs and images accusing Beijing and satirizing Xi Jinping. In one of the press photos, people held up pictures of Xi Jinping controlling “puppet” Min Aung Hlaing, with signs reading “Please stop China from helping the military coup” and “(Please) leave now for the internet technicians from China! ” Since the coup, Myanmar’s public discontent with China has deepened, including accusations that the Chinese Communist Party has sent an “Internet army” to cut off the Internet for the military government, threats to boycott Chinese goods, and even voices about attacking the China-Myanmar oil and gas pipeline at the Kyaukpyu port in Rakhine State. The two countries’ development project at Kyaukpyu port is seen by outsiders as a flagship project.
All these anti-China signals show that the public is pointing the finger at the Chinese Communist Party. They believe that the Chinese Communist Party has tacitly supported the Myanmar military in staging the coup, and they criticize the Chinese Communist Party for supplying weapons to the military and doing business with the military chief to provide ammunition and capital for the military to stage the coup.
Anti-Chinese sentiment may build up and become a diplomatic powder keg
If the Chinese Communist Party continues to maintain its “inaction” or so-called “bide its Time” posture toward Myanmar, anti-China sentiment is likely to continue unabated, according to Fung Ka-shing, director of ASEAN and East Asia Studies at the Hong Kong Institute of International Studies, who is familiar with Southeast Asian politics.
The Chinese have also been the target of ethnic Burmese or Burmese, especially in the 1960s, when the military stirred up such sentiments, making it impossible to unite the domestic population and finding an “external enemy” to rationalize military rule. I think this is also a potentially more dangerous possibility. If China does not draw a clear line, it is difficult for Beijing to predict when this sentiment will become a weapon against China.
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