SOUTH-EAST ASIA: Burma Sticks to Role as ASEAN’s Problem Child

By Marwaan Macan-Markar Reprint | | Print |

Marwaan Macan-Markar

BANGKOK, Jun 7 2002 (IPS) - Thanks to a three-week anti-Thai tirade, Burma has confirmed its reputation as the problem child of the South-east Asian family.

On Friday, Rangoon even stepped into the sports arena to express displeasure at its Thai neighbour. The ruling military junta stopped Burmese youth from participating in an amateur swimming competition for young swimmers from the 10-member Association of South-east Asian Nations (ASEAN) being held in Bangkok.

This comes in the wake of other anti-Thai sentiments expressed openly after border skirmishes in late May. They have ranged from Burma expelling Thai workers, denying visas for Thai officials and even ordering the Burmese media to tarnish Thailand, both its present and past.

“The attacks in the media are very harsh this time, much harsher than what occurred last year when there was Burmese-Thai border tension,” says Aung Zaw, editor of ‘The Irrawaddy,’ a magazine published by Burmese exiles in Thailand.

Rangoon authorities have been equally determined in their role as censors. They ordered the Burmese media late May to omit the word Thailand or Thais in all copy.

That resulted in ‘Living Colour,’ a Burmese business magazine, having to blacken out all reference to Thailand in a story about ASEAN for its June edition, according to Zaw. “It is not rational.”

Rangoon’s latest round of rage surfaced soon after the Thai army began a military exercise along Thailand’s northern border in late May. The objective of that military exercise, which involved some 10,000 Thai troops, was to curb the flow of illegal drugs from Burma and ensure Thailand’s war-readiness, including the ability to deal with border threats.

According to Burma, the Thai army had exchanged fire with the United Wa State Army (UWSA), an ethnic rebel group with ties to Rangoon that has gained notoriety for producing and trafficking drugs, like heroine and methamphetamines.

Burmese authorities accused the Thais of providing military help to another rebel group, the Shan, who are at odds with Burma and the UWSA. Bangkok, however, dismisses the charges.

Despite mounting embarrassment the ASEAN family finds itself in over Burma’s outburst, regional political experts are convinced that Burmese authorities will get away with their barbs.

“There will not be any third-party intervention or an effort by ASEAN to help resolve the issues troubling Burma,” says Supang Chantavanich, director at the Institute of Asian Studies, a think-tank at Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn University. “The ASEAN way will prevail – to ignore and avoid taking action.”

There are other reasons, too, that give Burma the license to behave like the family black sheep without being rapped on the knuckles for violating the spirit of cordiality and diplomacy.

“It is very apparent that Myanmar is seen as a prima donna project for regional unity in South-east Asia,” says Landry Subianto, a researcher at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a Jakarta- based think-tank, using the name Rangoon’s junta calls Burma.

“Having been successful in restoring normal situations in Cambodia and the rest of Indo-China, ASEAN leaders were inspired and felt obliged to bring Myanmar back to normal life,” he adds.

Burma became a member of ASEAN in July 1997, joining Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Ever since, ASEAN members have defended Burma when it was subject to rebuke from Western countries for its abysmal human rights record. ASEAN countries, for instance, maintained that human rights issues should not be included in discussions of free trade.

Also, ASEAN used special political terms to describe how it was dealing with Burma politically. “They came up with the ideas of ‘constructive engagement’ and ‘enhanced interaction’ — to name a few attempts,” says Subianto.

And for its part, Burma took cover behind ASEAN – particularly the stress on regional solidarity and cooperation – when under fire from the European Union, the United States and Britain.

“Whenever the junta has been criticised by the international community, it has hidden behind ASEAN’s skirt,” asserts Teddy Buri, head of the Burmese parliamentarians in exile. “The military leaders expected to be protected by ASEAN during any international onslaught.”

Such support, in addition to ASEAN membership, lent legitimacy to the military dictatorship that has ruled Burma for the last 40 years.

And the early May release of Aung San Suu Kyi, the Burmese pro-democracy leader, from 19 months house arrest was a moment that ASEAN revelled in. The regional grouping could take credit in the lead role of U.N. special envoy Razali Ismail, a Malaysian diplomat, to help free Suu Kyi after year-long talks he brokered with the Nobel Peace Prize winner and the junta.

Yet, as exiled parliamentarian Bury observes, Burma has continued to be the “black sheep” in ASEAN. “It remains a thorn for ASEAN, showing disdain towards the spirit that brings the countries together.”

On the political front, Rangoon has not minced its words when it comes to Thailand, reflecting the tension, the conflicts and wars between the two countries in history.

On the economic front, Burma has tested ASEAN’s patience by pushing ahead with domestic economic policies that go violate the spirit of free trade, an ASEAN hallmark.

In April, for instance, Burma’s generals introduced a new policy that banned all foreign trading firms in an effort to protect local business. The bulk of the affected were from ASEAN countries.

Burma’s behaviour, in fact, is considered far in excess when compared with the occasional disputes within ASEAN, like the ones involving Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore.

“The cross-border problems between these two neighbouring countries (Burma and Thailand) are so far one of the most serious protracted issues that may threaten the whole stability in the region,” asserts Subianto.

For him, the ASEAN way of being disengaged from the conflict in the interest of regional unity has the potential of “undermining the spirit of ASEAN.”

Thai regional expert Supang has a similar pessimistic concern: “ASEAN should get worried with Burma’s behaviour, since it indicates a lack of solidarity in the region. And that can grow.”