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China’s Burma ‘Solution’: comment in Wall St Journal, Nov 22, 2017

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited Burma on Sunday to propose a solution to the Rohingya humanitarian crisis. But instead of using its influence to rein in Burma’s military, China’s plan would encourage the government to keep mistreating minorities.

The Burmese military used attacks on army posts by a small Rohingya militant group in late August as an excuse to start “clearance operations.” Soldiers murdered and raped large numbers of civilians, according to eyewitness reports. Satellite photos confirm that some 300 Rohingya villages were burned. More than 600,000 Rohingya have fled to neighboring Bangladesh in the last three months, with thousands more trying to escape.

China initially backed the Burma military’s actions as necessary “to maintain national stability,” and it is using its veto to prevent the United Nations Security Council from condemning the violence. As pressure builds for sanctions and a referral to the International Criminal Court, Mr. Wang is signalling that China’s support remains steadfast.

Mr. Wang’s new plan begins with a cease-fire and the restoration of stability. It’s hard to argue with that, but there are few Rohingya left in Burma to persecute. The last large group consists of 120,000 people who have been detained in camps outside the city of Sittwe since an outbreak of violence there in 2012.

Second, Mr. Wang proposes that Burma and Bangladesh hold talks on how to resolve the crisis without the participation of other countries or groups. This would help Burma resist pressure for U.N. involvement. Talks with Bangladesh are now beginning, but Dhaka alone is unlikely to convince Burma to let more than a token number of refugees return.

Third, China offers its standard response to all political unrest: more economic development. Mr. Wang unveiled a new plan for an economic corridor between China’s Yunnan province, Burma’s old capital of Yangon and the western state of Rakhine, where the Rohingya lived.

Western nations are considering sanctions to pressure Burma on the Rohingya, but China’s support means they have limited leverage. Aides to Aung San Suu Kyi, Burma’s elected leader, told the Journal earlier this month that sanctions would push the country back into China’s orbit.

But giving Burma a pass on ethnic cleansing brings its own risks. Ms. Suu Kyi is moving closer to the military and has cracked down on journalists who criticize her. Members of Burma’s other ethnic groups are seeing their rights curtailed. The Rohingya crisis has changed Burma’s political trajectory, and China’s support could accelerate the slide toward extreme nationalism.https://www.wsj.com/articles/chinas-burma-solution-1511310714

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