Leaked cable belies PH’s Burma stand

By Jerry E. Esplanada Philippine Daily Inquirer First Posted 02:20:00 12/31/2010 Filed Under: ASEAN, Diplomacy, Foreign affairs & international relations, Suu Kyi MANILA, Philippines—The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) is “divided over how to address Burma,” with older member-states Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore favoring a hard-line approach toward its military rulers, noted a 2008 confidential memo from the US Embassy in Beijing released by Wikileaks, the online whistle-blower. The cable, which quoted, among others, Counselor Yang Jian of the Chinese foreign ministry’s Asia department, however, failed to mention the Philippines, which claimed to be the most vocal among Asean members in the campaign for the release of Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and the democratization in Burma, also called Myanmar.

Moderate stance Last month, the 65-year-old Suu Kyi, the dominant figure of Burma’s pro-democracy movement, was released from seven years of detention by Burmese militaryAmbassador to China Clark T. Randt Jr., Yang was also quoted as saying, “newer Asean members, such as Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, support a more moderate stance towards Burma.” Randt was the longest-serving American envoy to Beijing. He served from July 17, 2001, to Jan. 20, 2009. Yang also said that “while China is open to multilateral means to address the situation in Burma, China believes Burma’s acceptance of these means is the key to success.” Best route to democracy In his memo, Randt quoted Yang as saying, “The Chinese accept the Burmese regime’s so-called road map to democracy as the best route to democracy and national reconciliation in Burma.” “Yang reiterated that China remains opposed to additional sanctions (against Burma), which she said will not spur further dialogue, but instead would make the regime look further inward and give it an excuse for hard-line policies. “Despite China’s opposition to sanctions, Yang stressed that the US and China had similar goals for Burma, including stability, democracy and development. Therefore, China and the US should show unity, particularly in the UN, in addressing the situation in Burma,” said Randt. More sanctions bring further unrest The diplomat also quoted Zhai Kun, a scholar of the Chinese Ministry of State Security-affiliated China Institutes for Contemporary International Relations (CICIR), as saying that China “does not wish to see a sudden change in the Burmese regime.” “In that light, China fears the pressure of more sanctions may only bring further civil unrest (in Burma),” said Randt. Another CICIR associate, Zhang Xuegang, reportedly urged Washington to “play two hands with the Burmese government.” dictators. In the same memo, filed on Jan. 11, 2008, by then US