Power-mad but short of electricity
“A new era for the iron and steel industry is about to begin in Myanmar,” roared Min Aung Hlaing last year. That brave declaration turned to a whimper on Wednesday when he visited No. 1 steel plant in Mandalay Region’s Myingyan Township. The junta boss complained that Myanmar lacked sufficient electricity to produce steel on its own and has been forced to spend large sums in dollars to meet domestic demand of around two million tonnes per year.
However, the electricity shortage that has halted steel production didn’t stop the junta boss from again urging the use of ‘electric trains’ to transport raw materials and the finished product to and from the steel plant ‘in the future’.
The Mingyan steel plant and its Russia-backed sister plant in Shan State’s Pinpet were suspended in 2017 under the now-ousted National League for Democracy (NLD) government after operating at a loss. Min Aung Hlaing has sought to blame the NLD for the losses and tried to restore the plants over the past two years, but in vain.
Moscow in absurd poll dance
While it’s true that regime boss Min Aung Hlaing has repeatedly said he will hold an election and hand power back to the winner, he still hasn’t announced a poll date. However, he seems to have no shortage of support for his election fantasy. First came India, which promised to help in preparing a poll that has been denounced both locally and internationally as a sham designed to secure the military’s grip on power. China has also met the junta’s election body twice to inquire about the possibility of a poll. Now comes Russia, Myanmar’s major arms supplier.
On May 30, Sholban Kara-Ool, the deputy chairman of Russia’s State Duma, the lower house of parliament, pledged support for the junta’s “free and fair election” during his meeting with the regime boss. The Russian deputy also met Thein Soe, head of the junta’s Union Election Commission, to discuss cooperation and the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the two countries’ election bodies.
It’s absurd for Kara-Ool to waste his time on an election when nobody knows when or if the poll can take place. Even Min Aung Hlaing has no idea, and has no time to think about it while he struggles with a nationwide popular armed resistance that aims to topple his regime.
China debt trap snapping shut?
The widespread anti-China protests following Foreign Minister Qin Gang’s visit to Naypyitaw in early May didn’t stop Chinese ambassador Chen Hai calling for speedy implementation of Kyaukphyu deep-sea port in Rakhine State during his meeting with junta Legal Affairs Minister and Attorney-General Thida Oo in Naypyitaw on May 24.
Min Aung Hlaing visited the China-backed Kyaukphyu Special Economic Zone (SEZ) – a gateway to world trade through the Indian Ocean – in late February and urged efforts to ensure its success.
As Thida Oo recently travelled to China and holds responsibility for legal agreements between Naypyitaw and Beijing, speculation is growing that the Chinese ambassador met with her to amend the Kyaukphyu SEZ deal.
The National League for Democracy government that was ousted by the 2021 coup had sought to raise Myanmar’s stake in the SEZ following concerns that China’s 85 percent stake could land Myanmar in a debt trap.
Deputy junta chief Soe Win, who serves as chairman of the Myanmar SEZ central committee, has called for negotiations to find a win-win solution on the Kyaukphyu SEZ by assessing the “political sensitivity” of previous agreements signed between the two countries.
Top Chinese intelligence official arrives for ‘cooperation’ talks
Major General Yang Yang arrived in Naypyitaw earlier this week for what was the first publicly reported visit by a military official from China, a major ally and arms supplier of the junta, since the coup. He met with the junta’s No. 2 official, Soe Win, to discuss “cooperation in peace, tranquillity and development programs for border areas,” according to junta media.
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