Myanmar factory attacks focus on Chinese influence

BANGKOK (AP) – Confusion over what exactly happened during recent attacks on factories in Myanmar has hinted at the complex and troubled nature of the country’s relations with China amid a broad public backlash against a February 1 coup .

Many in Myanmar suspect that Beijing supports the takeover of the military, and there has long been a deep resentment against the growing influence of China, but protesters insist they were not responsible for the attacks on factories last weekend. Some believe they suspect the army incited attacks on the factories to justify the introduction of martial law in industrial zones that were a hotbed of protests against the junta.

In addition to the uncertainty, China said it was prepared to do more to protect its extensive business investments in Myanmar, which include factories, pipelines and other major infrastructure projects.

The state-run Global Times in China has claimed that protesters “incited by the West” attacked 32 factories and damaged 240 million yuan (about $ 30 million).

Unrest is bad for business and will deter investors, Chinese state broadcaster CGTN said in a comment.

“But China does not allow its interests to be exposed to further aggression. “If the authorities are unable to deliver and the chaos continues to spread, China could be forced to take more drastic action to protect its interests,” CGTN said.

With a limited internet and mobile connection, outside observers may find it increasingly difficult to verify what is going on in Myanmar or to get an official response from the junta. The vast Hlaing Thayar industrial zone and several other districts of Yangon, the country’s largest city, have been under martial law since Monday, putting them under full military control and making it difficult for protesters to organize and communicate.

But people living in the area – home to hundreds of clothes, shoes and other factories – said only a handful of factories were affected. Local TV networks, including the military Myawaddy TV, reported that five factories in Hlaing Thayar were burnt down on Sunday.

Much of the controversy over the arson attacks falls on the events in and around the Chinese Xing Jia shoe factory in Hlaing Thayar. According to records from Panjiva and the Myanmar Investment Commission, the factory makes Western brand shoes such as DeWalt and Dunlop and a wide range of clothing.

According to reports from various sources, including Yangon-based labor organizer Andrew Tillett-Saks, the fires broke out after five military workers were shot and killed by the army when they reported to the factory to pay their February wages. progress.

People living in the industrial area contacted by telephone by The Associated Press said that despite the suspicion that the coup on 1 February had Chinese support, workers were not responsible for the burning of the factories protected by high walls and do not wait.

“Many shouted in anger to burn down Chinese – owned factories, but no one carried out such attacks because it is difficult to gain access to the areas and many residents work in the factories,” said San Maung, a bicycle repairman. in the area, said.

‘If people wanted to attack these places, they could do it from day one. “There was no looting or fire at all until March 14 when truck soldiers brutally suppressed the protests,” said San Maung.

According to the independent group Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, the violence claimed at least 38 lives on Sunday. The group in Myanmar, which is monitoring the deaths related to the repression, said that as of Wednesday, 217 people had died and 2191 had been arrested or charged.

The Facebook page for the Chinese embassy in Myanmar has been flooded with tens of thousands of angry comments from locals who are outraged at the lack of mention of sympathy for those who died in the violence, after the page placed a call for better protection of the factories. and Chinese staff.

“It is worrying that there is a lot of anti-Chinese sentiment,” Thiri Thant Mon of Pegu Partners, a consulting firm in Yangon, said Thursday during a webinar hosted by Japan’s Nikkei Asia. ‘This is worrying because there are also many indigenous Chinese businessmen in Myanmar.

“Any kind of racial tension is worrying,” she said.

Apart from hundreds of factories that mostly manufacture clothing, shoes and other light industrial products, China is investing heavily in the energy and mining sector in Myanmar.

One of the largest is the twin oil and gas pipelines that run nearly 800 kilometers from Made Island on the west coast of Myanmar to Ruili, on the border of the Chinese province of Yunnan.

Before the coup, the government of Aung San Suu Kyi, which would remain in power after a landslide victory in an election in November, announced a tender for another major project led by the Chinese, a major deepwater port in Kyaukphyu, Western Myanmar. . A visit in January by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi made a promise to both parties to work on completing the project and to continue an ‘economic process’ leading to the southwestern province of Yunnan connected to the port and major cities in Myanmar.

Analysts say the coup and its aftermath pose risks to anyone doing business in and with Myanmar.

Such setbacks are nothing new for China, whose relations with its resource-rich neighbor broke down a few years in the late 1960s when anti-Chinese riots broke out during Mao Zedong’s ultra-left Cultural Revolution.

In recent years, Myanmar leaders have relied for years on China, as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, to help protect military and civilian governments from harsh UN sanctions for human rights violations.