Than Shwe seeks Chinese support for junta elections

Monday, 13 September 2010 19:42 Khaing Kyaw Mya

New Delhi (Mizzima) - Burmese military junta leader Than Shwe's five-day visit to China is designed to cull support for ensuing national elections and to boost economic ties between the nations. Meanwhile, India waits to see if new vistas will open up in a “new democratic era” in Burma, according to an Indian policy analyst.

It was the authoritarian's leader's first visit to Burma's giant northern neighbour since a massive overhaul in the junta's set-up that included Than Shwe and top aides resigning their military posts.

It had also come ahead of polls on November 7 and represented a bid by the regime to cement friendly ties with its most powerful ally, the observers said.

The dictator is looking for China's support for the junta's contentious nationwide polls, the first in two decades and for the Sino-Burmese oil and gas pipelines to forge ahead. The energy transport deal was signed during Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's recent visit according to reports.

India was nurturing its own policies towards Burma and would like to have a good rapport with neighbours such as China, and would not like Burma to discriminate between the two countries, said B. G. Verghese, a journalist, commentator and visiting professor at the Centre for Policy Research New Delhi.

“We hope the elections will be the first step towards restoration of democracy in Burma. India can only hope and pray that this will be the beginning of a new democratic era in Burma though it may take time,” he said.

The China visit comes after Than Shwe and his entourage of more than 80 junta ministers and their wives were warmly welcomed in July by India and Indian luxury hotels. It was concluded with the signing of a list of treaties and memoranda of understanding.

A total of 31 agreements have been signed during the past year's high-level visits to Burma by Chinese leaders, including those of Vice-President Xi Jinping in December and Premier Wen Jiabao's visit in June.

Dr. Udai Bhanu Singh, a senior researcher at the Ministry of Defence-funded think-tank, the Institute for Defence Studies and Analysis in New Delhi, said India was also keeping tabs on two Chinese naval ships that had been docked early this month at a Burmese port.

The Guangzhou and Caogu warships enjoyed a ceremonial welcome and various official visits while docked at Rangoon's Thilawar Port. The five-day visit by the ships from China's anti-piracy taskforce bound for the Gulf of Aden, highlighted Beijing's growing naval reach and its close ties with the junta in their secluded capital of Naypyidaw, the BBC reported on September 3.

China had helped out Burma with arms supplies and India was nowhere near China in this regard but there was a lot of Indo-Burmese co-operation in military aid and infrastructure, he added.

“The Chinese have been nurturing a long-term relationship with Burma, which accounts for the way the Chinese paid attention to the Burmese dictator's visit,” he said.

China has spent around US$8 billion in Burma during the current fiscal year, with US$5 billion in hydropower projects and more than US$2 billion in the oil and gas sector.

India was aware that the Chinese would further consolidate their support for Burma in trade, politically, as military ties are also strengthened.

Though China has to face flak from the west for supporting the junta, it is now Burma's third-largest trading partner and investor after Thailand and Singapore. India is ranked fourth.