Demonstrators hide behind barricades during an anti-coup protest in Mandalay, Burma, March 15, 2021.
Chinese factories are burning, Chinese workers are in hiding, and Beijing is inexorably caught in a political crisis that has paralyzed all of Burma, while protesters accuse Beijing of being in cahoots with the Burmese military regime.
Beijing has vehemently denied any involvement in the Feb. 1 military coup in Myanmar, but Xi’s regime is facing growing anti-China sentiment in the allied country.
When the Communist Party leader visited Myanmar in January 2020, Xi elevated the country to the status of a “community of Destiny” and made Myanmar a close friend in Beijing’s mind.
A year later, the Southeast Asian country was plunged into bloodshed after a coup d’état that toppled Aung San Suu Kyi’s civilian government. Since then, pro-democracy protesters have taken to the streets daily to demonstrate against the coup’s atrocities, while accusing Beijing of hiding behind the military chiefs’ crackdown.
AFP reports that at least 200 demonstrators have lost their lives as the military regime turned its guns on the people. Beijing appears to be caught between supporting the coup regime and siding with the Burmese people, who are increasingly Anti-Communist.
Who does the Chinese Communist Party want on stage? According to political scientist Richard Horsey, “Whoever is in power, as long as it protects the interests of the CCP.”
But the scholar adds, “Beijing doesn’t think the Burmese army can stabilize the situation ….. The more the CCP tries to maintain its relationship with this polity, the more the Burmese population is sidelined.”
The environment in Burma is increasingly hostile to China. On Sunday, at least 32 Chinese-run factories were burned in Yangon, Myanmar’s economic capital, and the Chinese Communist Party’s official media ‘Global Times’ assessed the damage at around 31 million euros. Beijing authorities have asked Myanmar to immediately protect its expatriates and property.
Since Tuesday, Chinese factories in sensitive areas have been closed one by one, and a representative of a textile factory said factory workers now face a hostile environment against the Chinese. “All the Chinese workers are hiding inside the factory and only a few police officers are standing on duty here,” the person, who declined to be named, told AFP.
The Communist Party’s official media issued threatening comments that Beijing might “take harsh measures” if Myanmar authorities failed to stop the chaos.
Meanwhile, calls for a boycott of Chinese goods are growing.
The growing anti-China sentiment in Myanmar could have a negative impact on countries in Southeast Asia, where China has expanded its influence with extensive investments.
According to Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political scientist at Thailand’s Chulalongkorn University, “All mass riots against Chinese interests have a lot of spreading power and could spread to Cambodia, Laos and other places.”
Anti-China banners were everywhere on the streets of Burma during the march, and online, there were calls to boycott Chinese goods, ranging from boycotting huawei phones to removing the Jitterbug App.
According to one protester, who spoke on condition of anonymity, “The Chinese Communist Party is standing behind the Burmese army, and that is the main reason for the chaos in our country.”
Thitinan argued that in addition to protecting its own economic interests, the CCP seeks to establish legitimacy in the international community and therefore “cannot close its eyes to a dictator at its own doorstep.”
Prior to the coup, Beijing enjoyed a rare degree of influence in Myanmar, and until now refused to consider the subversion of the democratically elected government by Burmese soldiers a “coup.
China is a major investor in Burma, providing major armaments to the Burmese army while privately maintaining close ties with ethnic militia forces located along the China-Burma border.
Officially, Beijing has traditionally claimed to oppose interference in the internal affairs of other countries, and it has called on all sides to find ways to cool tensions in Myanmar.
On March 11, the Chinese Communist Party finally voted in favor of condemning the Burmese military regime in the UN Security Council, a rare move for Beijing, which has opposed a UN resolution of condemnation over Burma’s crackdown on the Rohingya.
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