Myanmar's Army Chief Challenges Biden, and Bets Big on China
(Bloomberg) -- By seizing power on Monday, Myanmar’s generals are providing U.S. President Joe Biden with an early test of his efforts to counter the appeal of China’s authoritarian model in Asia.
Army chief Min Aung Hlaing, who was bumping up against a mandatory retirement age this year, already faces sanctions from the U.S. and U.K. due to a brutal crackdown against Rohingya Muslims that has led to accusations of genocide. Beijing, meanwhile, has shown him respect: In a meeting last month with the 64-year-old general, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi called the two countries “brothers” while praising the military’s “national revitalization.”
“While the coup will no doubt come with costs, the army clearly views them as affordable,” said Sebastian Strangio, author of “In the Dragon’s Shadow: Southeast Asia in the Chinese Century.” “Recent events in Southeast Asia have shown that with China’s growing power, and democratic backsliding in the West, the U.S. and other Western countries no longer have the moral authority or economic and political means to set the normative agenda in the region.”
A key part of the U.S. strategy to counter China’s rise has been an effort to rally democracies in Asia to back a “free and open” region that contrasts with Beijing’s single-party rule. Yet democracy advocates in places like Malaysia and Thailand have lost ground without consequences under the presidency of Donald Trump, whose own bid to overturn the U.S. election results prompted a deadly mob to storm the Capitol.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/myanmar-s-army-chief-challenges-biden-bets-big-on-china/ar-BB1dhwaw?li=BBnbcA1&ocid=DELLDHP
Biden threatens sanctions on Myanmar after military coup
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is threatening to slap new sanctions on Myanmar after a coup that saw the military arrest the civilian leaders of its government.
Myanmar, also known as Burma, has been a U.S. democracy promotion project for decades, though there have been recent and serious concerns about its backsliding into authoritarianism. Disappointment with former opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyii, who has been detained by the military, has run high.
“The military’s seizure of power in Burma, the detention of Aung San Suu Kyi and other civilian officials, and the declaration of a national state of emergency are a direct assault on the country’s transition to democracy and the rule of law," Biden said in a statement.
“In a democracy, force should never seek to overrule the will of the people or attempt to erase the outcome of a credible election. For almost a decade, the people of Burma have been steadily working to establish elections, civilian governance, and the peaceful transfer of power. That progress should be respected.”
He noted that the U.S. had removed sanctions on Burma after its transition to democracy but that it would not hesitate to restore them.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/biden-threatens-sanctions-on-myanmar-after-military-coup/ar-BB1di3vE?ocid=DELLDHP&li=BBnb7Kz
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