A broader perspective on Myanmar

Wow... I never thought these words would come from my mind and on to this blog, given my contempt for the blatant hypocrisy I have to deal with every day working in state-run media, but.... here it goes: Back off on China when it comes to Myanmar.

Ok... I've said it. Now let me explain why.

Over the last couple of days as the anti-Junta protests by the brave monks in Myanmar (yes, I'm not the BBC, I'm not calling it Burma at this point) have escalated, there has been much attention in the media, particularly from the BBC and other 'liberal' foreign media, such as CNN, to the China angle when it comes to this story. And at first blush, it might actually make sense. China does have economic ties with Myanmar and is one of the few countries in the world with any sort of influence on the military Junta. There's no denying those facts. But I think it's becoming just a bit too convenient for the media to be on China so quickly over this situation.

China does have investments in Myanmar. But so does Russia, Pakistan, Cambodia, Thailand and India. In fact, as these protests began heating up, democratic India, ally of many a western nation, pledged 150 million US dollars in direct investment in Myanmar for gas exploration. So why isn't the world all over this move?

China vetoed a UN resolution calling for sanctions against Myanmar a few months ago. Sure it did. But so did Russia. Why does China only get mentioned in this move? Besides, Myanmar is one of the poorest countries in the world and, while deplorable as the military Junta is, the Burmese people need economic development to survive. You sanction the regime; you sanction and hurt the people, because the Junta is going to be just fine.

China has a shoddy track record when it comes to dealing with despotic regimes. Can't deny that one bit. But I think in the case of the Myanmar protests right now, I think the media should be looking outside the box a bit when it comes to jumping on the bash-China bandwagon right away, and take a look at the other players involved in this scenario.