19 February, 2022: China is increasingly turning into a great ally for Myanmar. How and why ? When and how Burma got renamed to Myanmar? The ReferencePepper explains.
The military junta still governs Myanmar amid fierce opposition from the people. China has reportedly offered the junta leaders economic and strategic backing as well.
What is this Myanmar Junta we keep talking about?
The Myanmar junta refers to the military government in Myanmar (also known as Burma), which took power in a coup d'état1 in February 1, 2021.
coup d'état1 means a sudden, violent, and unlawful seizure of power from a government; a coup.
Senior General Min Aung Hlaing is the head of Myanmar Junta and led the coup. This was his third coup since Burma gained independence from the British in 1948.
Min Aung Hlaing, born in 1956, studied law in Yangon before entering the Defense Services Academy in 1974.
The military overthrew the elected government led by Aung San Suu Kyi and arrested her and other leaders of the National League for Democracy (NLD) party. The coup sparked widespread protests and international condemnation, with the junta facing criticism for its use of force against peaceful protesters and for its restriction of civil liberties, including freedom of the press and freedom of assembly. The junta has been accused of human rights violations, including the use of lethal force against protesters and the arbitrary arrest and detention of journalists, activists, and political opponents. The situation remains tense, with ongoing protests and a civil disobedience movement calling for a return to democracy.
What's in a name?
Myanmar or Burma?
For the longest time, the country was called Burma, after the dominant Burman ethnic group.
The British made Burma a province of India in 1886. Aung San , hailed as the Father of the Nation,started his crusade for the independence of Burma as a student aginst the British rule and also one of the founders of the socialist Anti-Fascist People’s Freedom League (AFPFL).
Unfortunately Aung San was assassinated before he could witness the independence of Burma.
In picture: General Aung San outside 10 Downing Street in January 1947 to negotiate the independence of Burma from the British Empire. Image: lostfootsteps.org
But in 1989, after the ruling junta suppressed a pro-democracy uprising, military leaders decided to change its name to the Union of Myanmar. The military regime said the reason behind name change is that “Burma” only refers to its largest ethnic group and is not inclusive of the country’s other 134 ethnic communities. In practice, however, both terms have been used for centuries.
The United Nations and some countries such as France and Japan recognized the change. The United States and Britain did not.
As per United States Institute of Peace, the U.S. and others that have not recognized the name change generally argue that it was made without the consent of the people and was thus illegitimate.
At the end of the second year of the junta's leadership in Myanmar. During that time, State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi, President Win Myint, and other important civilian leaders were imprisoned, and China actively provided support.
Aung San Suu Kyi, also called Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, (born June 19, 1945, Rangoon, Burma [now Yangon, Myanmar]) is the daughter of Aung San (read above) and Khin Kyi (a prominent Burmese diplomat).
An intergovernmental non-profit organization claims that all sectors of Myanmar's society took part in a series of protests that hit the country. In the past two years, the protests have escalated into a violent rebellion against the military.
The Myanmar Junta was relieved by China's cooperation in such a circumstance. Beijing offered the Myanmar military strategic help. For instance, according to a report in Europe Asia Foundation, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi asked ASEAN [ Association of Southeast Asian Nations] states to "fend off external interference" and ensure a "smooth landing" of the crisis in Myanmar in conversations with his Thai and Brunei equivalents in April 2021.
Additionally, in 2021, Myanmar's foreign minister visited China to meet with his counterparts, despite the rest of the world's reluctance to communicate with the Tatmadaw [official name of the armed forces of Myanmar] leadership. Wang Yi, China's foreign minister, went on to attend the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) summit in Myanmar in July 2022.
China had offered Myanmar its assistance, especially militarily. China gave Myanmar a "Ming-class" diesel-electric submarine in December 2021. It is unclear at this time whether the Myanmar navy has accepted the requirement to permit the deployment of Chinese experts onboard.
Despite the rising anti-Chinese attitude in Myanmar, Beijing is reluctant to reduce or change the course of its involvement because Myanmar is a crucial land route for China to access and expand its position and influence in the Indian Ocean region. Furthermore, Beijing's dominance in mainland Southeast Asia is significantly increased by the Tatmadaw's reliance on Chinese political, strategic and military assistance.
