https://apnews.com/article/myanmar-china-min-aung-hlaing-kunming-a1a7ff2751216fa7bafe052475b44837
Myanmar’s military chief and head of government, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, traveled to China for the first time since his army’s coup in 2021. The two countries met for regional summits to discuss ties between the two countries following Myanmar’s losses against pro-democracy and armed ethnic minority groups, usually working together, on the Chinese-Myanmar border. Along with Russia, China is Myanmar’s top arms supplier in their war against democracy which has upset a majority of the citizens living in the region. Many Western nations have shunned and placed sanctions on Myanmar’s new government for its human rights concerns. Another entity that has shunned Senior General Min Aung Hlaing’s actions is the National Unity Government (NUG), which many western nations recognize as the official government of Myanmar. Kyaw Zaw, the spokesperson of NUG, has publicly urged the Chinese government to reconsider its support for Myanmar’s military government.
Myanmar’s new government will likely lead to more instability in the region and is already seeing the warning signs of a civil war erupting. The new authoritarian regime is also likely to solidify the country’s allyship with China. Land in the East Asia region has long been contested, therefore, it is probable that China wants control over as much area as possible. This would be very easy to gain through befriending a country’s government while there is civil unrest in their state.
China utilizes both a liberal and realist theory perspective towards the events in Myanmar, seeking to use diplomacy to gain as much soft power as possible, AKA influence and allies. On the other hand, China wants this power in order to have as many offensive and defensive capabilities if the need arises. Myanmar is acting as a bandwagon state, attempting to attach itself to a larger, more powerful country in order to help suppress intrastate insurgencies.