Myanmar’s National Unity Government pledges to protect China’s business interests

Myanmar’s publicly mandated administration, the National Unity Government (NUG), vowed to “safeguard Chinese economic interests” in the country and endorsed its “One China” policy in a statement on Tuesday. “The One China principle will be upheld and supported in a sustained manner,” the 10-point statement from the NUG’s foreign affairs ministry said, referring to the controversial position that the island of Taiwan is part of China and not the sovereign state it declared itself to be more than 70 years ago. “Any organization that poses a threat to the national security of neighbouring countries shall not be permitted to establish a presence within the territory of Myanmar,” the NUG continued. It promised to foster “a genuine Pauk-Phaw relationship between the two countries,” using a term that emerged soon after Myanmar’s independence in 1948 to represent friendly ties and shared interests with China. The NUG maintained that it adheres to “an independent, active and non-aligned foreign policy.” The government also said it would “safeguard Chinese economic investments and other socio-economic enterprises within Myanmar.” The Brotherhood Alliance of ethnic armed organisations—which includes the Arakan Army, Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army—issued a similar statement in July, promising to take action against any threat to Chinese business interests. In October, they launched a major offensive to drive the junta out of northern Shan State—where many China-backed ventures are located—seizing control of several towns and hundreds of military outposts. Chinese business initiatives in Myanmar are vast and include hydropower dams, transportation infrastructure, mining, and trade hubs. Communities and civil society organisations have repeatedly spoken out against these megadevelopment projects, which have frequently been implemented without local consultation or consent in active conflict areas and involving allegations of environmental and human rights violations. Last week, the Myanmar military announced it was resuscitating the Kyaukphyu Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Rakhine State with the Chinese state-owned China International Trust and Investment Corporation (CITIC), which holds a 70-percent stake in the project. A signing agreement between Myanmar junta and Chinese officials at a hotel in Naypyitaw for a deep sea port in the Kyaukphyu SEZ on December 26, 2023 (Junta-controlled Ministry of Information) Clashes have recently been breaking out between the junta’s forces and those of the Arakan Army on Ramree Island, which is part of southern Rakhine State’s Kyaukphyu Township. The military closed off Kyaukphyu’s ports, blocking travel on waterways in and around the township, and arresting locals throughout the area for suspected ties to the powerful ethnic armed organisation. Junta sources reported that negotiations with CITIC regarding the Kyaukphyu SEZ had reopened early last year and were under review since 2022; the project dates back to an original contract signed under the Thein Sein administration, which came to power in 2010. It was renegotiated under the elected—and now ousted—National League for Democracy government in 2018. While the regime’s contract has been renegotiated, details on what has been changed have not been disclosed. “This is not a contract we agreed to haphazardly because of incidents in northern Shan State,” junta official Aung Naing Oo—minister of the regime’s Union Government Office (1) and former commerce and investment minister—wrote in a recent Facebook post. The NUG said in Tuesday’s statement that it would uphold obligations to China under treaties or agreements signed between the two countries prior to the 2021 coup—a warning to Beijing that it will not recognise agreements forged with the current junta. China has also been cracking down on online scam centres, gambling sites, and affiliated human trafficking operations particularly along its border with Myanmar, issuing warrants and offering rewards for the capture of industry ringleaders. In August, the United Nations said that criminal gangs had forced at least 120,000 people in Myanmar into participation in such illicit activities, and subjected them to grave human rights violations. “Myanmar remains committed to engaging in close cooperation with China and other countries in the region to combat transnational crimes, including online scams and gambling, human trafficking and drug-related activities, which pose threats not only to the border stability of the two countries but also to the stability and security of the whole region,” the NUG’s statement said.

Myanmar’s National Unity Government pledges to protect China’s business interests

The announcement follows the junta’s relaunching of the Kyaukphyu SEZ, in which a Chinese state-owned company holds the majority stake

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