FRIDAY, March 29, 2024
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Chinese leader Xi says militarism not in China's genes

Chinese leader Xi says militarism not in China's genes

Chinese President Xi Jinping feted neighbours India and Myanmar on Saturday, dusting off the 60th anniversary of a now rather obscure agreement signed in the early days of the Cold War to pledge a rising China's commitment to peace.

 
In 1954, China, India and Myanmar signed the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, promising mutual non-aggression and non-interference in internal affairs, ideals then incorporated into the Non-Aligned Movement of countries who did not wish to choose between the United States and the Soviet Union.
Xi, speaking to some 700 people in Beijing's cavernous Great Hall of the People, including Myanmar President Thein Sein and Indian Vice President Mohammad Hamid Ansari, said China would never try to impose its will no matter how strong it becomes.
Xi noted that Myanmar, whose president has irritated China by suspending a major Chinese-invested dam project and seeking closer ties with the United States, was the first country to sign a border agreement with China, in 1960.
"The people of India, Myanmar and other Asian countries also cherish the values of love, kindness and peace," he said. 
China's ties with both India and Myanmar, then known as Burma, soured in the 1960s, as China and India fought a border war and Myanmar's military rulers oversaw torrid anti-Chinese riots, events that mar relations to this day.
More recently, China's growing diplomatic and military clout has rattled nerves around the region, especially with Beijing's increasingly strident moves to assert itself in territorial disputes in the East China Sea with Japan and in the South China Sea with countries such as Vietnam and the Philippines.
On June 28, Thein Sein met Chinese Premier Li Keqiang at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. They discussed prospects for establishment of the Bangladesh-India-Myanmar-China economic corridor, energy cooperation, the Kyaukphyu special economic zone and deep seaport in Rakhine State, as well as further economic and investment cooperation. 
At the meeting, the president was joined by Foreign Affairs Minister Wunna Maung Lwin, Myanmar Investment Commission chairman Zeyar Aung, Finance and Revenue Minister Win Shein, Deputy Minister of Information Ye Htut and Myanmar Ambassador to China Thit Ohn Lwin. 
 Other ministers in the delegation – President’s Office Minister Hla Tun, Cooperatives Minister Kyaw Hsan, Electric Power Minister Khin Maung Soe, Mines Minister Dr Myint Aung, National Planning and Economic Development Minister Dr Kan Zaw and Deputy Minister for Culture Sandar Khin – did not attend this critical meeting with China’s leader. Hla Tun chairs the committee tasked with implementing the investigation report into the controversial Letpadaungtaung copper mine project. Kyaw Hsan oversees the use of Chinese loans. Khin Maung Soe oversees hydropower projects. 
The day before this meeting China and Myanmar signed four agreements. These were memoranda of understanding to set up a Myanmar-China culture centre and increase cultural cooperation, a feasibility study into a general hospital project and assistance for increasing the capacity for communications systems at Yadanarpon University of Technology. 
Beijing has five key projects in Myanmar. They are the Letpadaungtaung copper mine, Myitsone dam, Tarpein hydroelectric project, Kyaukphyu-Kunming oil pipeline and the Tagaung nickel mine. 
Although the Myitsone dam has been suspended, it has yet to be completely stopped. The contract and related documents should be submitted to Parliament, which can then decide to permanently prevent this dam from being built. China has been allowed to continue with the Letpaduangtaung copper mine. The Tarpein hydropower project and Tagaung nickel mine also remain in China’s hands. 
The Kyaukphyu deep-sea port and Kyaukphyu-Kunming railroad projects are, however, opposed by the majority of Myanmar’s people. They fear these projects could undermine the future of the union. 
Political observers said that to prevent the spread of anti-China sentiment in Myanmar the Union government must be more up front about the details of its discussions with Chinese officials, particularly those that could affect Myanmar’s sovereignty, political observers say.
 
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