• Burmese
Friday, June 13, 2025
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Irrawaddy
27 °c
Yangon
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
No Result
View All Result
The Irrawaddy
No Result
View All Result
Home Opinion Guest Column

Can China be Myanmar’s Good Neighbor While Maintaining Its Non-interference Principle?

Debby S.w. Chan by Debby S.w. Chan
March 9, 2021
in Guest Column
Reading Time: 4 mins read
0 0
A A
Chinese President Xi Jinping (right) and Myanmar State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi (left) at the launch ceremony for events to mark the 70th anniversary of China-Myanmar diplomatic relations in Naypyitaw in January 2020. / Myanmar State Counselor’s Office / Facebook

Chinese President Xi Jinping (right) and Myanmar State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi (left) at the launch ceremony for events to mark the 70th anniversary of China-Myanmar diplomatic relations in Naypyitaw in January 2020. / Myanmar State Counselor’s Office / Facebook

12.4k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

A month after the military’s seizure of power in Myanmar, China is still reluctant to characterize the situation as a coup. Instead, it urges “all parties” to exercise restraint regardless of the rise of civilian casualties in the crisis. In his latest response to the Myanmar’s political turmoil on March 7, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi stated, “China supports the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to uphold the principles of non-interference in internal affairs and making decisions through consensus, mediate in the ASEAN way and seek common ground.” China sends a clear signal that it opposes coercive measures to pressure the military regime in Myanmar.

Chinese foreign policy experts argue that China does not prefer the coup as a stable business environment that best serves China’s economic interests. The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is China’s flagship diplomatic tool connecting to its national rejuvenation aspiration. The China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC) that is a key component of the BRI helps China achieves the two ocean strategy. In the past decade, China has been cultivating a cordial relationship with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) for the advancement of CMEC. Nevertheless, they also point out that China will not abandon its long-established principle of “non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries.”

People in Myanmar do hope that China can respect their country’s sovereignty. The older generation still remembers the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) military, financial and intelligence support to the Burma Communist Party (BCP) that aimed to topple the Ne Win government through armed struggle in the 1960s-1970s. Only in the post-Mao era, did the CCP cut ties with BCP to normalize relations with Burma in the 1980s. To date, there is on-going speculation about China’s influence over ethnic armed groups along the China-Myanmar border.

RelatedPosts

Is TNLA, Under Chinese Pressure, Conceding Northern Shan Gateway to the Regime?

Is TNLA, Under Chinese Pressure, Conceding Northern Shan Gateway to the Regime?

June 13, 2025
197
China Defends Myanmar Junta on Human Rights at UN

China Defends Myanmar Junta on Human Rights at UN

June 12, 2025
808
Toxic Thailand Rivers Pinned on Myanmar Mines

Toxic Thailand Rivers Pinned on Myanmar Mines

June 11, 2025
626

Outside Myanmar, there are indications that China might relax its principle of non-interference in humanitarian crises. In the face of the humanitarian crisis in Darfur in the 2000s, China did utilize its diplomatic influence to persuade Sudan to accept the deployment of a United Nations peacekeeping mission to the country. Also, it did not block other United Nations Security Council (UNSC) members referring Darfur to the International Criminal Court (ICC). Some argue that it was due to an escalation of international pressure that connected the events in Sudan to the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Amid the 2011 Libyan civil war, China condemned the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO) military intervention that began in March that year for violating the target state’s sovereignty. When the anti-government forces gained momentum following NATO’s operation, China started to engage with Libya’s National Transnational Council (NTC), the leading opposition force, and recognized it as an “important dialogue partner”. In June, before the NTC took Tripoli and the fall of de facto leader Muammar Gaddafi, Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi received NTC’s leader Mahmoud Jibril in Beijing. After the NTC controlled the capital in August, Chinese Foreign Ministry even claimed that, “We respect the Libyan people’s choice.” Alongside the well-being of civilians, China was deeply concerned about its investment in the country, in particular its oil investment.

Unlike the situation in Libya in 2011, the people of Myanmar do not need a civil war today to express public opinion. Election results in the 2020 elections manifested the people’s will. In fact, Chinese President Xi Jinping also congratulated Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and her NLD’s victory in the election last November. Nationwide anti-coup political mobilization since February has also demonstrated the people’s political choice.

President U Win Myint, State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and other leaders have been detained since the coup on Feb. 1. The Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH) comprises elected members of the parliament was formed as a consequence. Its establishment aims to compete for international legitimacy with the military junta. Speaking at the UN General Assembly on Feb. 26, Myanmar’s UN Ambassador U Kyaw Moe Tun echoed the voices of people at home. He appealed to the UN not to recognize the military government and “use any means necessary to take action against the Myanmar military.”

The international community, including China, has to determine which government should be the legitimate government in Myanmar. China pledges to play a constructive role in Myanmar. Now it is a moment of truth for China. Will China respect the authority of the military government that seized power by force? Or will it respect the choice of millions of people in Myanmar who chose their government by vote? China can repeat its principle of non-interference, but this could inevitably undermine its image and long-term interests in Myanmar.

Debby S.W. Chan is a visiting fellow in the Department of Public Policy, City University of Hong Kong. Her research concerns Belt and Road projects in Southeast Asia. Her views are her own.

You may also like these stories:

ASEAN Members on Myanmar: Agreeing to Disagree

Thailand’s Dilemma in Myanmar Crisis

Re-imagining Myanmar – The Mother of All “Critical Junctures”

Your Thoughts …
Tags: ChinaCoup
Debby S.w. Chan

Debby S.w. Chan

Debby S.W. Chan is a visiting fellow in the Department of Public Policy, City University of Hong Kong. Her research concerns Belt and Road projects in Southeast Asia. Her views are her own.

Similar Picks:

Exodus: Tens of Thousands Flee as Myanmar Junta Troops Face Last Stand in Kokang
Burma

Exodus: Tens of Thousands Flee as Myanmar Junta Troops Face Last Stand in Kokang

by Hein Htoo Zan
November 28, 2023
98.3k

Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army troops are opening roads and pathways through forests for people to flee Kokang’s capital as...

Read moreDetails
Drone Attack at Myanmar-China Border Gate Causes Over $14m in Losses
Business

Drone Attack at Myanmar-China Border Gate Causes Over $14m in Losses

by The Irrawaddy
November 27, 2023
38.5k

Jin San Jiao is latest northern Shan State trade hub in crosshairs of ethnic Brotherhood Alliance.

Read moreDetails
Brotherhood Alliance Marching Towards Capital of Myanmar’s Kokang Region
Burma

Brotherhood Alliance Marching Towards Capital of Myanmar’s Kokang Region

by The Irrawaddy
November 25, 2023
31k

Chinese embassy urges citizens to flee Laukkai Town as ethnic armies prepare to drive Myanmar junta troops from Kokang’s capital.

Read moreDetails
Myanmar Junta Arrests Thai Condo Buyers, Realtors as Currency Crashes
Business

Myanmar Junta Arrests Thai Condo Buyers, Realtors as Currency Crashes

by The Irrawaddy
June 4, 2024
27.6k

Monday’s arrests follow reports that Myanmar has become one of Thailand’s most lucrative markets for selling condos since the 2021...

Read moreDetails
China-Backed Illegal Rare Earth Mining Surging in Northern Myanmar
Burma

China-Backed Illegal Rare Earth Mining Surging in Northern Myanmar

by Yan Naing
July 15, 2022
34.7k

A Myanmar military-backed militia in Kachin State is protecting Chinese-run mines that produce coveted rare earth minerals used in hi-tech...

Read moreDetails
New Year Message From Myanmar: Dictator Shows he is Forever Falling Short
Analysis

New Year Message From Myanmar: Dictator Shows he is Forever Falling Short

by The Irrawaddy
January 3, 2024
24.9k

Min Aung Hlaing kept this year’s speech brief – just long enough to blame everyone for the disaster he created...

Read moreDetails
Load More
Next Post
Australian Professor Sean Turnell and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in Yangon in 2012. / Sean Turnell’s Facebook

Myanmar Regime Claims Australian Adviser Tried to Flee with Financial Information

Anti-military regime protesters in Yangon's Kamayut Township react to being tear-gassed by riot police on Mar 1. / The Irrawaddy

Thailand Ready to Accommodate Refugees From Myanmar Fleeing the Violent Unrest

No Result
View All Result

Recommended

The Hidden Fallout From China’s Cross-Border Crime Crackdown in Myanmar

The Hidden Fallout From China’s Cross-Border Crime Crackdown in Myanmar

4 days ago
1.4k
How the Myanmar Military’s Propaganda Efforts Have Evolved Over the Decades

How the Myanmar Military’s Propaganda Efforts Have Evolved Over the Decades

2 days ago
923

Most Read

  • Civilians in Need as Arakan Army Advances on Kyaukphyu

    Civilians in Need as Arakan Army Advances on Kyaukphyu

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta Advances into Karenni State

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Jade Hub Burns as Junta Counteroffensive Penetrates Hpakant

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • China Defends Myanmar Junta on Human Rights at UN

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • High-Level Ministerial Meeting Held to Speed Up Preparations for Myanmar Junta’s Election

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Newsletter

Get The Irrawaddy’s latest news, analyses and opinion pieces on Myanmar in your inbox.

Subscribe here for daily updates.

Contents

  • News
  • Politics
  • War Against the Junta
  • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
  • Conflicts In Numbers
  • Junta Crony
  • Ethnic Issues
  • Asia
  • World
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Election 2020
  • Elections in History
  • Cartoons
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Commentary
  • Guest Column
  • Analysis
  • Letters
  • In Person
  • Interview
  • Profile
  • Dateline
  • Specials
  • Myanmar Diary
  • Women & Gender
  • Places in History
  • On This Day
  • From the Archive
  • Myanmar & COVID-19
  • Intelligence
  • Myanmar-China Watch
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Food
  • Fashion & Design
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • Photo Essay
  • Donation

About The Irrawaddy

Founded in 1993 by a group of Myanmar journalists living in exile in Thailand, The Irrawaddy is a leading source of reliable news, information, and analysis on Burma/Myanmar and the Southeast Asian region. From its inception, The Irrawaddy has been an independent news media group, unaffiliated with any political party, organization or government. We believe that media must be free and independent and we strive to preserve press freedom.

  • Copyright
  • Code of Ethics
  • Privacy Policy
  • Team
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Burmese

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Business Roundup
  • Books
  • Donation

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.