Myanmar/China: China has decisive role in peace process

In two interviews by The Irrawaddy on 17 August 2016, several domestic and international experts point to the decisive role China will play in the peace process between armed ethnic groups and the government in Myanmar. Thomas Muller, persecution analyst at World Watch Research, comments: "The background to these interviews was the trip made by the de facto leader of Myanmar, Aung San Suu Kyi, to China last week. This was not her first trip abroad (this honor went to neighboring Thailand), but it took place significantly before any invitations for visits to Western countries were accepted. Apart from various issues concerning infrastructure projects and investments from China, this trip also reflects the fact that China continues to support several insurgency groups in Myanmar. China wants peace and stability along its border, but it seems it will not quickly give up the leverage it has inside Myanmar by severing ties with these armed ethnic movements. For China, Myanmar has a geo-strategic value since it is China"s port to the Indian Ocean, and valuable for increasing development in China"s western regions. How China"s influence will play out in detail remains to be seen but it is clearly a strong factor. It may well be that demands made by ethnic groups, several of them being predominantly Christian, will have to take a step back and make way for bigger political interests."