Beijing – The military takeover in Myanmar and the detention of Aung San Suu Kyi was “a major cabinet reshuffle” according to the Chinese state media, which euphemisms issued to avoid calling it a coup. As Democratic leaders around the world beat the Burmese military and President Joe Biden said the US “took note” of who stood up for the people of Myanmar, China’s Communist Leadership it approached soft-soft.
Beijing called on all parties in Myanmar to “resolve their differences,” and the official Xinhua news agency on Monday described the military replacing elected ministers after the coup as a “major cabinet reshuffle”.
The nationalist Global Times, meanwhile, quoted unnamed experts as saying that the generals’ seizure of power could be seen as “an adjustment to the country’s dysfunctional power structure.”
Thein Zaw / AP
The newspaper – known for its ardent comments against China’s critics – also took the opportunity to attack former US President Donald Trump, whose belligerent approach to Beijing had pushed ties between the US and China to their lowest point in decades. descend.
Some experts said that … Trump, who refused to admit his electoral defeat and allegedly provoked the Capitol riots, military inspiration, ‘it wrote.
Beijing has long rejected what it sees as interference in its “internal affairs” – such as criticism of its human rights record – and has taken a similarly neutral stance on most foreign affairs.
Myanmar is also a vital part of Beijing’s massive Belt and Road infrastructure initiative. President Xi Jinping visited the country last January and pledged to support the government of Myanmar on a development path “adapted to its own national circumstances”.
China, the UN and leverage
On the other hand, European officials quickly condemned the takeover and unequivocally labeled it a coup d’état. Many others, including President Biden in the US and the head of the United Nations, rejected the military’s actions, calling for an immediate restoration of democracy in Myanmar, but did not use the word “coup”.
The use of the label could have legal implications for the U.S. government’s ability to provide assistance to the people of Myanmar, and as the United Nations Security Council was due to discuss the issue later on Tuesday, the Biden administration appeared to be waiting for support for a coordinated international response.
Myanmar’s military has justified its seizure of power by accusing it of widespread fraud in elections held three months ago that the NLD won in a landslide. It has imposed a state of emergency for a year, after which it says it will hold new elections.
So far, China, and to a lesser extent Russia, have been the only nations willing to defend the military actions in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma and still called by the US government.
AP
Russia used extraordinarily soft rhetoric when describing the takeover of the army, suggesting that it was merely an internal disagreement about “disagreements that arose after the results of the parliamentary elections.”
“We hope for a peaceful settlement of the situation in accordance with current legislation through the resumption of political dialogue,” Russia’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Monday, adding emphatically that it “had paid attention to the statement by the military authorities on their intention to hold new parliamentary elections in a year’s time. “
Crucially, since permanent members of the UN Security Council have both China and Russia veto over any resolutions proposed within that body, so as to avoid attempts by other countries to impose multilateral sanctions on the military-led regime in Myanmar – or even to formally label his actions as a coup d’état.
The UK holds the rotating presidency of the Security Council for the month of February and is therefore steering the agenda, choosing to keep the Tuesday meeting closed in what are known as ‘consultations’, reports Pamela Falk of CBS News, with a briefing by Christine. Schraner Burgener, Special Envoy to Myanmar, who is already “actively involved” in the field, the UK said.
Keeping the meeting closed could soften any tense exchange of views and lead to a statement from the 15-country council, which, even if unenforceable, would send a message to Myanmar’s military rulers.
“We will look at every set of measures,” British Ambassador Barbara Woodward told Falk on Monday during a press exchange. The British envoy, who will lead Tuesday’s meeting, was the British Ambassador to China from 2015-2020 and has significant expertise in dealing with the country as world leaders seek to shape the next steps in their response and possibly call for its release. from Suu. Kyi and other political leaders.
The US can also act unilaterally, and the Biden administration has vowed to “take action against those responsible” if the Burmese military “does not reverse these actions immediately.”
But as Asia analysts at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies wrote in a Monday note on Myanmar, the US government’s influence on the new military leadership is limited by Washington’s relatively small investment footprint in the country.
“Despite a decade of opening, US companies remain relatively modest players in Myanmar’s economy,” said CSIS analysts. Those who have invested are primarily focused on providing goods and services to the domestic market in Myanmar, meaning their departure will primarily harm private citizens. US companies have stayed away from the natural resources and raw material export sectors in which the military is heavy invested. “
The analysts said the effectiveness of any punitive measures imposed by Washington depends on the support of other Asian countries, which have closer business ties with Myanmar. However, that support – even from close allies – can be difficult to confirm.
“It will be more difficult for the United States to persuade major investors in Myanmar, such as Japan and Singapore, to follow suit. new facts on the ground, ”said the CSIS. “That will likely soften the blow of any US sanctions.”