Biden warns sanctions, but dilemma leads to close Myanmar-China
Democratic alliance/partner rallying mass oppression strategy disrupted
viewer
The coup in Myanmar at the beginning of his inauguration put US President Joe Biden’s Asian policy to contain China to the test for the first time.
If pressure is put on by massive sanctions, there is a high possibility that Myanmar, which is already close to China, will be closer to China. The Biden administration’s plan to check China by rallying democratic alliances and partners in the region has encountered a major obstacle from the beginning.
President Biden issued a statement in person on the 1st (local time) and condemned the Myanmar coup as’a direct attack on the transition to democracy and the rule of law’ and warned of sanctions. They pressed the Myanmar military to overturn the coup, warning that it could revive the sanctions lifted along with the transition to a democratic government.
However, even if sanctions are mobilized, the Biden administration’s concerns remain. Restrictive sanctions are less effective. If massive sanctions are mobilized, there is a high possibility that Myanmar, which has been driven by isolation, will be closer to China. Moreover, the victims of sanctions are highly likely to be taken by the Myanmar people. Even at the time of sanctions in the 1990s, the people of Myanmar suffered great damage. For this reason, Bloomberg said, “President Biden is faced with a dilemma of punishing only the Myanmar military that caused the coup, not the Myanmar people.” The Biden administration’s initiative to press China with its democratic alliances and partners in the Indo-Pacific region faces a dilemma from the beginning.
China has considerable influence in Myanmar. It has maintained close relations with the Myanmar military since before the democratic government entered Myanmar in 2015. China is the second-largest country to invest in Myanmar, accounting for one-third of Myanmar’s trade, 10 times that of the United States, Bloomberg reported.
viewer
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) said, “The Myanmar coup is a test for President Biden,” and pointed out that it is a difficult situation to respond without putting Myanmar close to China. Reuters also said, “It could be the first major test for the Biden administration trying to cooperate with the alliance in the new Asian strategy to counter China.” A blow”.
Myanmar’s democratization is also one of the achievements of President Biden’s vice president, Barack Obama’s administration. In 2015, when the military rule ended with the overwhelming victory of the democratic and national alliance led by advisor Suu Kyi, the Obama administration lifted most sanctions by September 2016.
President Biden referred to Myanmar as Burma in a statement that day. In 1989, the military changed the country’s name from Burma to Myanmar, saying it was a remnant of the colonial era, and the United States brought it to Burma, denouncing the oppression of the military’s democratic forces.
/ Reporter Noh Hee-young [email protected]
< 저작권자 ⓒ 서울경제, 무단 전재 및 재배포 금지 >