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Chinese and Burmese army chiefs sign defense agreement
Irrawaddy - November 30, 2011
The commander-in-chief of the Burmese armed forces, Gen Min Aung Hlaing, signed a memorandum of understanding on defense cooperation with the Chinese army and assured his counterpart from the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA), Gen Chen Bingde, of continued friendly relations between the two countries "no matter how the international situation changes," according to the Chinese state-run Xinhua news agency.
By raising the topic of changes on the international stage, the Burmese army chief made an obvious allusion to his country's improved relationship with the US, which is China's top political and economic rival, and his visit to China – which began on Sunday – served to counterbalance Clinton's visit to Burma.
In addition to his meeting with the PLA Chief, Min Aung Hlaing held talks with Chinese Vice-President Xi Jinping, who is also the vice-chairman of the Chinese Central Military Commission, and both sides vowed to strengthen military ties between the two countries. It is believed that Min Aung Hlaing's agenda in Beijing includes seeking cooperation from China with respect to the ongoing armed clashes in Burma's Kachin State, which is situated along China's western border. On Tuesday, the leaders of the Kachin Independence Organization, the political wing of the Kachin Independence Army, met with Burmese government officials in the Chinese border town of Ruili, but the discussions achieved no concrete results.
Despite some positive changes in Burma, the country's army chief remains a key stakeholder in Burma's nominal parliamentary democracy and under Burma's 2008 Constitution has the ability to assume power in times of "national emergency."
China has been a major ally of Burma since 1988, when the US-led Western bloc shunned Burma both diplomatically and economically following the military government's crackdown on democracy protests that year.
It is estimated that China has provided billions of dollars of military and economic assistance to Burmese rulers in the subsequent period of over two decades, in addition to giving them much-need diplomatic cover on the international stage with respect to human rights issues.
Despite the close relationship, Burma recently suspended a massive Chinese-backed hydroelectric dam in Kachin State, resulting in Chinese concerns regarding its many strategically important economic investments in Burma, particularly in the context of the renewed relationship between Burma and the US.
The Global Times, a mouthpiece for the Chinese government, wrote on Monday that China has no resistance toward Burma seeking improved relationship with the West, but it will not accept this "while seeing its interests stomped on."
Analysts have said that Burma, with its strong nationalism, has never been a strategic pawn of China, that the relationship between the two countries is a marriage of convenience, and that Burma has often in the past attempted to counterbalance Chinese influence with other regional powers such as members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nation (Asean), its giant neighbor India and even Russia.
Through the 2000s, the Burmese authorities have increasingly been cognizant of Burma's strategic interests and managed to deftly maneuver its foreign policy when needed, according to Renaud Egreteau, Assistant Professor for the Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Hong Kong, who focuses on China-Burma-India relations.
"Even if China has long remained a critical partner, [former Burmese dictator] Than Shwe had visited India twice and sent his diplomats to Russia, the ASEAN and several other key partners in the past years," said Egreteau in an interview with The Irrawaddy.
"With the US potentially coming back, the Burmese can add one more arrow to their diplomatic bow. But only to the extent it suits their long-term strategy; and so far this lies in more cordial relations with Washington, and less games with Pyongyang," he said.
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