China worries over rare-earth supply disruption from Myanmar coup

NIKKEI ASIA

KENJI KAWASE, Nikkei Asia chief business news correspondent
March 4, 2021 

Decade after drastic cut in exports to Japan, Beijing sees the tables turned

China heavily relies on imports of rare-earth minerals, mainly from the U.S. and Myanmar. (Source photos by Reuters)

HONG KONG -- While China reigns as the largest producer of rare-earth elements, the recent military coup in Myanmar has reminded Beijing of its reliance on and vulnerability to its Southeast Asian neighbor.

China owns the largest reserves of these strategic minerals, which are indispensable in churning out a wide variety of tech products, from smartphones to electric vehicles, wind power generators and missile defense systems, but it also heavily relies on imports, mainly from the U.S. and Myanmar.

The latest annual report by the U.S. Geological Survey states that China produced 140,000 tons of rare-earth oxide equivalent in 2020, almost 60% of the global total. Its reserves were 44 million tons, double those of Vietnam, which are the second-largest in the world.

China role in Myanmar coup under scanner

THE FREE PRESS

By Agencies
Monday, March 1, 2021,

Different charges claim that Chinese soldiers were being transported into the country on flights, or that ‘Chinese-looking’ troops have been spotted around Myanmar's cities

A policeman points his weapon at people in Taunggyi, a city in Shan State, on February 28, 2021, as security forces continue to crackdown on demonstrations by protesters against the military coup. AFP

Naypyitaw: With most nations condemning military takeover in Myanmar and arrest of elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi, there have been reports that China has been supporting the coup.

Different charges claim that Chinese soldiers were being transported into the country on flights, or that "Chinese-looking" troops have been spotted around Myanmar's cities, The Taiwan Times reported.

China ready to ‘work with Asean’ to ease Myanmar coup turmoil

South China Morning Post

Laura Zhou in Beijing
20 Feb, 2021

• Chinese foreign minister tells Indonesian counterpart that unrest not in interest of Myanmar or region
• Beijing hopes all parties will ‘continue the process of democratic transition’

A man takes part in a protest against the military coup in Yangon, Myanmar, on Saturday. Photo: Reuters

China has said it is willing to work closely with Asean to ease political tensions in Myanmar as pressure mounts on Beijing to condemn the military coup in its Southeast Asian neighbour.

In a call with his Indonesian counterpart Retno Marsudi on Friday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said a peaceful and stable Myanmar was important to both China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Myanmar protesters urge China to condemn coup. Will Beijing act?

Aljazeera
Zaheena Rasheed
18 Feb 2021

Protesters accuse China of backing Myanmar’s generals, but analysts say Beijing does not favour a return to military rule.

Demonstrators display placards accusing China for supporting Myanmar's military during a protest against the recent coup outside the Chinese Embassy in Yangon, Myanmar Thursday, February 11, 2021 [AP]

Chanting “Shame on you, China” and holding up banners in English, Chinese and Burmese, dozens of pro-democracy protesters gathered on Monday at the Chinese embassy in Yangon to denounce what they called Beijing’s backing for Myanmar’s military coup on February 1.

“Myanmar’s military dictatorship is made in China,” read one placard.

How China has Tightened its Grip on Myanmar’s Economy

NEWS18

FEBRUARY 09, 2021

While China Was Rapidly Making Inroads Into Myanmar, Indian Economic Presence In Myanmar Has Been More Or Less Limited To The 2010 Trade Statistics Level, A Bilateral Trade Over 11 Times Smaller Than China.

The bilateral trade between Myanmar and China in 2010 was US$1.22 billion. China’s share in Myanmar’s imports was 19.81%, while it accounted for just 2.93% of Myanmar’s exports. Back then, Thailand was the biggest trading partner with US$3.65 billion in bilateral trade. But it was largely export driven with 35.83% share of Myanmar’s total exports, while Singapore was at number three with US$1.58 billion of bilateral trade, according to the World Bank data.

India’s bilateral trade with Myanmar stood at US$1.12 billion and it was largely import driven. Myanmar’s import share with India was just 3.32%, while India’s share in Myanmar’s export was 10.80%.

Beijing wins when democracy is extinguished

The Telegraph

 CON COUGHLIN
DEFENCE EDITOR

10 February 2021

Burma’s military coup plays into the hands of a Chinese regime intent on expanding its influence

First Hong Kong, now Burma. There is an alarming new tendency that, whenever an Asian country seeks to embrace the values of democratic rule, it invariably ends with pro-democracy activists being imprisoned and abused.

Burma’s experiment with democracy is a relatively new phenomenon, dating back only to the country’s 2008 constitution, under which the military junta agreed to permit a limited form of democratic rule. Now even these modest reforms, under which the veteran campaigner Aung San Suu Kyi held the quasi-presidential position of “state counsellor”, have been extinguished after the military, responding to her National League for Democracy’s (NLD) clear victory in last November’s elections, once again seized control of the country.

Bangladesh, Myanmar, China tripartite talks Tuesday

Prothum Alo------ 

Prothom Alo English DeskDhaka
Published: 18 January 2021,

Rohingya exodus from their homeland, making their way to Bangladesh Reuters

Bangladesh, Myanmar and China will hold a virtual tripartite meeting on Tuesday to discuss ways to expedite the Rohingya repatriation process.

Rohingya repatriation talks between Dhaka and Naypyitaw remained halted for nearly a year due to COVID-19 pandemic and the general elections in Myanmar, reports UNB.

Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen will lead the Bangladesh delegations in the meeting scheduled to begin at 2pm (local time) on Tuesday, reports UNB. Vice Minister of China Luo Zhaohui will join from Beijing with Bangladesh and Myanmar delegations, a senior official confirmed.

Next Myanmar-Bangladesh-China Meeting on Rohingya Repatriation Set For Jan. 19

Radio Free Asia

2021-01-13

Rohingya refugees aboard a Bangladesh navy ship are relocated to a flood-prone island in the Bay of Bengal, Dec. 29, 2020.AFP

 

A secretary-level meeting between Bangladesh and Myanmar, mediated by China, will be held on Jan. 19 in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on the issue of repatriating Rohingya refugees, the Bangladeshi foreign minister said Wednesday.

Myanmar has not cooperated in ironing out issues to do with the return of the hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees, but Bangladesh is hopeful some headway will made at the upcoming meeting, Minister of Foreign Affairs A.K. Abdul Momen told journalists.

“We hope it will be a fruitful meeting,” Momen said.

He said that China had initially set the date for Jan. 9-10, but postponed it due to Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s visit to Myanmar on Monday and Tuesday.

Rohingya Repatriation: Bangladesh-Myanmar-China tripartite talks Jan 19

daily sun 

UNB
13th January, 2021

Bangladesh, Myanmar and China will hold a tripartite meeting on Rohingya repatriation in Dhaka on January 19 as Dhaka finds their repatriation to Myanmar as only solution to the crisis.

"We hope it would be a fruitful meeting," Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen told reporters on Wednesday about the tripartite talks. He said the meeting will be held at secretary level while such tripartite meeting was last held on January 20 last year.

The Foreign Minister said Bangladesh has handed over a list of 8,40,000 Rohingyas to Myanmar for verification.

"Myanmar has verified very few people. They're very slow. They verified only 42,000 people. There is serious lack of seriousness," said the Foreign Minister.

Beijing’s New Toys in Myanmar

THE I DIPLOMAT

By Amara Thiha
January 11, 2021

Infrastructure is high on China’s agenda in Myanmar, but it is also making headway in other important sectors. 

A year after Chinese President Xi Jinping’s first state visit to Myanmar, Foreign Minister Wang Yi is scheduled to arrive in the capital Naypyidaw today for a two-day official visit. The trip to Myanmar follows an African tour that has taken Wang to Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Botswana, Tanzania, and the Seychelles. The agenda of his Myanmar trip is yet to be confirmed, but the ongoing progress of the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC), along with COVID-19 diplomacy, is very likely to be high on the list.

First signed between China and Myanmar in 2018, the CMEC envisions the construction of a network of railways, roads, ports, and new cities running overland from China’s Yunnan province to the sea. Although numerous memorandum of agreements related to CMEC and Xi’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) have been in place for years, progress has lagged considerably. Indeed, progress on the CMEC seems to have been slowed further by Beijing’s pandemic-induced belt-tightening and the unprofitable nature of many of the infrastructure projects that fell under its aegis. This had prompted Beijing to adopt an alternative model of engagement in Myanmar: one that is more economically feasible, and that leverages its strategic assets, innovation, and technology to expand its sphere of influence, rather than focusing on infrastructure alone.

CORRECTED-Senior Chinese diplomat Wang Yi visits Myanmar in SE Asia tour, promises vaccines

REUTERS

Healthcare

Sam Aung Moon
January 11, 2021

YANGON, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi discussed closer cooperation with Myanmar and promised vaccines against COVID-19, state-run television said on Monday, after he arrived on the first stop of a five-day tour of Southeast Asia.

Wang met President Win Myint and Aung San Suu Kyi, the de facto head of the government whose National League for Democracy (NLD) was returned to power in November with a second successive landslide election victory.

China’s BRI Dream Could Turn Nightmare As Myanmar Puts ‘Roadblocks’ Before Key Infra Projects

The Eur Asian Times

Jayanta Kalita
January 9, 2021

Unlike China’s ‘iron brother’ Pakistan, which has rolled out the red carpet for its BRI projects, Southeast Asian nation Myanmar is set to clip the wings of the dragon.

China may be aiming to conquer the world with its ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) undermining local sentiments in certain host countries, but the dragon is not invincible it seems. Myanmar is one country where citizens are resisting aggressive and intrusive policies Beijing is known for.

A global infrastructure strategy, BRI reflects President Xi Jinping’s dream of taking China to the ‘numero uno’ spot in the world. It envisages road, rail, and port projects in six economic corridors spread across Southeast Asia, South Asia, Middle East, Africa, and Central and Eastern Europe.

No wonder, the Communist regime has already incorporated the BRI in the country’s Constitution as China plans to invest $1.5 trillion in the next decade.

According to global financial services group Nomura, more than 80 countries are likely to benefit from the BRI project. At the same time, it “will have enormous economic, geopolitical and investment implications for China”, Nomura warns. 

India says China arming rebels near borders

THE STRAITS TIMES 

Dec 8, 2020, 

Modi govt told of 4 most wanted insurgent leaders in Kunming to train, source for arms

Increased activity along the Myanmar border has sparked concern that India's military is becoming stretched as tensions remain with China and Pakistan on other parts of its land border.PHOTO: REUTERS

NEW DELHI • Indian officials say China is assisting rebel groups that have stepped up attacks on India's border with Myanmar in recent months, opening another front in the conflict between two nations already engaged in a deadly stand-off in the Himalayas.

Armed groups in Myanmar - including the United Wa State Army and the Arakan Army, which was designated a terrorist organisation this year - are acting as Beijing's proxies by supplying weapons and providing hideouts to insurgent groups in India's north-eastern states, according to Indian officials with knowledge of the situation, who asked not to be identified due to rules on speaking with the media.

India Accuses China of Helping Rebel Groups on Myanmar Border

Bloomberg

Sudhi Ranjan Sen
7 December 2020,

• India sent thousands of troops to region as tensions increased
• China denies supplying weapons to ‘non-state actors’
  

Photographer: Ye Aung Thu/AFP/Getty Images

Indian officials say China is assisting rebel groups that have stepped up attacks on its border with Myanmar in recent months, opening another front in the conflict between two nations already engaged in a deadly standoff in the Himalayas.

Armed groups in Myanmar -- including the United Wa State Army and the Arakan Army, which was designated a terrorist organization this year -- are acting as Beijing’s proxies by supplying weapons and providing hideouts to insurgent groups in India’s northeastern states, according to Indian officials with knowledge of the situation, who asked not to be identified due to rules for speaking with the media.

'US remarks on Chinese role over Rohingya issue inappropriate'

Prothum Alo------ 

Prothom Alo English Desk

Dhaka

22 October 2020, 

 

Rohingya refugee camps in BangladeshReuters file photo

The Chinese embassy in Dhaka has reacted to US' claim that China has done very little to resolve the Rohingya issue terming it 'inappropriate and not constructive at all'.

The embassy in a post shared on its verified Facebook page said Stephen E Biegun, US deputy secretary of state, during a press briefing in Washington DC summarising his trip to India and Bangladesh said that China 'has unfortunately done very little to help resolve the Rohingya issue', reports UNB.

Bangladesh Will Wage a Quiet Battle with China and Russia Over the Rohingya

THE NATIONAL INTREST
by Anders Corr
November 6, 2020

Dhaka could diplomatically distance itself from Beijing and Moscow for insufficiently supporting it on critical issues such as refugees, trade, water and climate change.

Two of the most important political figures in Bangladesh, Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen and Ambassador Muhammad Zamir, did a remarkable thing on Oct. 31. They indicated publicly that Bangladesh could diplomatically distance itself from China and Russia for insufficiently supporting Bangladesh on critical issues such as water, refugees, trade, and climate change.

 

US senators seek to declare China 'genocide' against Uighurs

DECCAN HERALD

10:33 istupdated: Oct 28 2020, 10:33 ist

Read more at: https://www.deccanherald.com/international/world-news-politics/us-senators-seek-to-declare-china-genocide-against-uighurs-908106.html

AFP, Washington, Oct 28 2020, 10:33 istupdated: Oct 28 2020, 10:33 ist

Read more at: https://www.deccanherald.com/international/world-news-politics/us-senators-seek-to-declare-china-genocide-against-uighurs-908106.html

AFP, Washington, Oct 28 2020, 10:33 istupdated: Oct 28 2020, 10:33 ist

Read more at: https://www.deccanherald.com/international/world-news-politics/us-senators-seek-to-declare-china-genocide-against-uighurs-908106.html

AFP, Washington, Oct 28 2020, 10:33 istupdated: Oct 28 2020, 10:33 ist

Read more at: https://www.deccanherald.com/international/world-news-politics/us-senators-seek-to-declare-china-genocide-against-uighurs-908106.html

AFP, Washington, Oct 28 2020,

Read more at: https://www.deccanherald.com/international/world-news-politics/us-senators-seek-to-declare-china-genocide-against-uighurs-908106.html

AFP Washinton
Oct 28 2020, 

 

US senators sought October 27, 2020 to declare that China is committing genocide against Uighurs and other Turkic-speaking Muslims, a step that could ramp up pressure on behalf of the estimated one million-plus people in camps. Credit: AFP Photo

 

 US senators sought Tuesday to declare that China is committing genocide against Uighurs and other Turkic-speaking Muslims, a step that could ramp up pressure on behalf of the estimated one million-plus people in camps.

China’s hand seen in Myanmar’s insurgent group targeting India-backed Kaladan project

Hundustan Time

Rezaul H Laskar | Edited by Sparshita Saxena
Hindustan Times, New Delhi
Updated: Oct 26, 2020,

File photo: Workers seen on the Indian side of the Kaladan project at Lawngtlai in Mizoram.(HT Photo)
 

 The Arakan Army, an insurgent group whose activities have severely affected the India-backed Kaladan multi-modal transport project in Myanmar, has benefited from the clandestine transfer and smuggling of Chinese-made weaponry, people familiar with developments said on Monday.

The group, designated a terrorist organisation by Naypyitaw, clashed with Myanmarese troops on nearly 600 occasions last year, and a majority of the skirmishes occurred in close proximity to the $480-million Kaladan project.

India Transfers Myanmar’s First Submarine Amid Tensions with China

THE I DIPLOMAT

By Blake Herzinger
October 27, 2020

he submarine acquisition fulfills a long-held ambition of the Myanmar Navy, but could prove costly in the long run.

The long-awaited transfer of a Russian-made Kilo-class submarine from India to Myanmar took place last week during Myanmar’s Bandoola fleet exercise. The submarine, UMS Min Ye Thein Kha Thu, a decades-old diesel boat, is only a single vessel but it has significance in Myanmar’s immediate neighborhood and is also indicative of the increasing strategic competition in the Indo-Pacific.

Myanmar will take back Rohingya from Bangladesh: China

AA

Md. Kamruzzaman

DHAKA, Bangladesh

25.10.2020 

Myanmar has told China it is willing to take back Rohingya refugees currently living in Bangladesh, according to the Bangladeshi Foreign Ministry.

In a statement, the ministry said China’s top diplomat Wang Yi conveyed this information to his Bangladeshi counterpart AK Abdul Momen in a phone call on Thursday night.