AS THE European Union tightened sanctions and analysts called for an "international coalition against Myanmar," the junta in Rangoon will begin to crawl back into its isolationist shell packed? with Singaporean military equipment and filled with oil and gas revenues from Indian, Chinese, French and American companies. Here it will remain until it weathers this bout of international attention, living unperturbed by the rotten carrots of engagement or the brittle sticks of sanctions.
Sanctions from the European Union or the United States will have no impact on Myanmar. It has managed to sustain itself for decades despite targeted sanctions, and if it is economically strangled, it will tighten the noose on the necks of its population like other sanctioned authoritarian regimes before it, rather than incur the costs itself. As former U.N. Secretary General U Thant stated in an editorial in the Los Angeles Times, "Western economic sanctions don't mean much to a half-century old military regime, a regime that has long been comfortable in isolation and needs only a modicum of money and trade from the outside world."
Most of Myanmar's trade is not with the West. It is with its neighbors in Asia who would rather bankroll a repressive regime than divest from it. They don't mind seeing red on the streets as long as they have their green. India has pocketed its democratic ideals and engaged in investment competition with China for the gas guzzler they both sandwich. Singapore, according to Andrew Selth, an analyst at Australia's Office of National Assessments, sends guns, rockets, armored personnel carriers, grenade launchers and communications to Burma via Singapore Inc. Companies, run by the family of Singapore's current prime minister.
Nor will any of these countries change their policies anytime soon. India, the world's largest democracy, responded to the anti-democratic crackdown on protesters by sending its petroleum minister Murli Deora to Myanmar to negotiate energy cooperation. According to the Daily Telegraph, a British newspaper, China told the junta to "handle the issues properly," a disturbing statement in light of Beijing's own example of handling protests in Tiananmen Square two decades ago. Singapore, chair of the feeble Association of Southeast Asian Nations, scored a lackluster? victory by drafting a statement that expressed concern regarding the use of automatic weapons in Myanmar. But the statement appeared to ring hollow in light of ASEAN's failed leadership thereafter.
If sanctions are ineffective, ASEAN's policy of constructive engagement has been and will continue to be an abject failure. ASEAN members brought Myanmar into their fold in the 1990s in the hopes of "socializing" it through financial investments. Now the policy seems more like a thin veil to cover their funding of a bloodthirsty pariah.
Despite this reality, analysts have raised prospects for an "international coalition" among the U.S., Japan, China, India and ASEAN to counter the junta. Dr. C. Raja Mohan, a respected Indian analyst, argued that India should try to hop on the Western bandwagon, live up to its democratic values and condemn the junta. But such optimism is unfounded. India is already reeling from a major setback in its energy competition with China and is eager to level the playing field
Read More
COHEN: Facing federal cuts, U.Va. must defend affordability
By Ryan Cohen | YesterdayIn this uncertain environment, the University must act creatively and strategically to ensure it can maintain its commitment to affordability.
EDITORIAL: Commit to protecting noncitizens on Grounds
By Editorial Board | YesterdayThis has grown into a pattern of failing the rights of noncitizens to due process and overstepping judicial checks and balances on the executive branch.
CASTAGNO: Intensifying security theater in schools does not make them safer
By Conall Costagno | March 24, 2025Adding more stringent security measures will not solve the underlying issue, which is that schools must do more to invest in students’ mental health.
