china-myanmar-comprehensive-strategic-cooperative-partnership-a-regional-threat

This paper analyses the China-Myanmar ‘comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership’ in the framework of China’s diplomacy in the post- Cold War era and concludes that the partnership has no significant negative impact on regional relations. The author argues that China pursues its partnerships with Myanmar and other states to create a stable and harmonious surrounding environment, this being a major prerequisite for China’s peaceful development. He further argues that China has not focused its diplomacy on Myanmar at the expense of other states; rather, he notes that China has established partnerships with three other ASEAN states before it did so with Myanmar in May 2011. The article argues that the scope and depth of China’s partnerships with states such as Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia are actually above that of its partnership with Myanmar. It also argues that Myanmar’s strong nationalism will prevent China from, for example, building a base on Myanmar’s soil.