Burmese Minister of Foreign Affairs Aung San Suu Kyi was to meet her Chinese counterpart in Naypyidaw yesterday, an official said, in her first act of international diplomacy since her pro-democracy party took power.
The Southeast Asian nation considers relations with its giant neighbor — and largest trading partner — its biggest foreign policy preoccupation, with border wars and controversial Beijing-backed megaprojects topping the agenda.
Myanmar’s new civilian administration — sworn in on Wednesday last week — faces a cascade of economic challenges as it inherits rule of the poor nation from the military.
Photo: AP
Aung San Suu Kyi, the country’s democracy icon, who holds the post of minister of foreign affairs among a slew of Cabinet portfolios, invited Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) for talks in the capital.
“The Chinese foreign minister and our foreign minister Daw Aung San Suu Kyi will meet ... this afternoon,” in the capital, a Burmese Ministry of Foreign Affairs employee told reporters, requesting anonymity.
Aung San Suu Kyi was invited to Beijing in 2014 as China looked to rebalance its interests in fast-changing Myanmar ahead of last year’s elections.
Chinese state media confirmed Wang’s two-day visit.
Myanmar’s former junta drew criticism for its cozy relationship with China, a country which propped up the paranoid and repressive generals through the darkest years of their rule.
Army top brass handed Chinese investors gold-plated contracts exploiting Myanmar’s abundant natural resources including dams and mines.
Myanmar’s expectant public, who voted in droves for Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy in November last year elections, are hoping for an end to the carve-up of the country’s resources.
Last month, a top party economic adviser said that the incoming government could rethink a Chinese-backed dam in conflict-hit northern Kachin State — a rare and highly symbolic threat to Chinese interests.
The multibillion-dollar Myitsone hydropower project was suspended in 2011 by the reform-minded government of then-Burmese president Thein Sein.
However, Beijing is keen to restart the scheme.
The two countries share a long border that is dotted with rebel groups fighting Myanmar’s government.
China is accused of allowing rebel groups to operate in its territory as it seeks leverage over its neighbor, as well as turning a blind eye to illicit border trades that fuel the wars including jade, drugs and timber.
However, analysts said Beijing is also keen to show its support for the new administration, more so as Washington deepens ties with Myanmar.
Aung San Suu Kyi, who is barred from presidency by the Burmese Constitution, has shown a pragmatic streak in dealing with controversial Chinese interests.
She led an inquiry into the Letpadaung copper mine in the central city of Monywa — a joint venture between Myanmar’s military and China’s Wanbao — following a violent police crackdown on protesters including monks in 2012.
Her panel recommended construction be allowed to continue, despite activists’ concern.
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