There is only a slim majority in favor of the Burmese junta’s rejection of the recent assembly of Asean, a loose federation of Southeast Asian nations. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen wanted to stay in touch with General Min Aung Hlaing and even honored him with a visit last June. In contrast, Joko Widodo, the president of Indonesia, Southeast Asia’s largest economy, proposed last November to further tighten Myanmar’s isolation. The majority of Myanmar’s objections come because they want to counteract the impression that they are collaborating with the regime, which is banned worldwide.
Moreover, the medium and small sized countries in the region do not want to be crushed by their powerful neighbors, China and India, and do not want to be taken seriously as a group by the EU and US. For that, ASEAN must appear closed and stable.
But Myanmar’s neighbors have their own issues with human rights and democratic freedoms. Vietnam and Laos are one-party communist countries. Cambodia is ruled by Hun Sen, the former Khmer Rouge who has come to power in a coup since 1985. The Philippines recently elected President Ferdinand Marcos, son of the dictator of the same name who ruled between 1965 and 1986. Junior wants to rewrite his family history and thus his entire family. country – and brought the military in Myanmar out of their seclusion.
At the same time, all countries are aligning themselves with the region’s biggest trade partner and conflict participant: China. In the South China Sea, the People’s Republic of China has been at odds with Vietnam and the Philippines for decades. It’s about islands, sometimes just rocks and sandbanks because of maritime rights attached to them. Most importantly, it’s about who owns the oil, gas and fish that are found beneath the surface of the ocean. The government in Beijing has ignored arbitration awards by the International Court of Justice. There have been repeated clashes between warships and fishing vessels, sometimes provoking Beijing. Therefore, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. increasingly want to approach the US. One third of world maritime trade passes through waters.
Several conflicts are burning around India
And problems are also growing in another part of the so-called Asia-Pacific region. Afghanistan has been in turmoil since the hasty withdrawal of western troops. Pakistan’s neighbor is struggling with an impending default along with floods and power outages across the country. At the same time, the conflict with India’s enemy sister state has continued to heat up since the Indian government revoked the autonomous status of the Jammu and Kashmir region.
The “Line of Actual Control”, the demarcation line between India and China, also runs across the Himalayas. For more than two years there have also been clashes and massive troop reinforcements here. A potential military conflict between India and China could affect the entire region. Myanmar shares borders with both world powers.
