New Delhi (Mizzima) - A U.S. State Department official on Tuesday met with Burma’s Foreign Minister in an effort to promote a bilateral relationship with the military-ruled country, state media reported Wednesday.
Stephen Blake, director of Mainland Southeast Asian Affairs, on Tuesday met with Burmese Foreign Minister Nyan Win and other officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, according to Burma’s official New Light of Myanmar newspaper.
The paper said both Blake and Nyan Win held cordial discussions “on issues of mutual interest and promotion of bilateral relations between the Union of Myanmar [Burma] and the United States.”
Blake was accompanied by Larry Dinger, Charge d’ Affaires, and Jennifer Harhigh, First Secretary, of the U.S. Embassy in Burma's former capital of Rangoon.
Blake is the first mid-level official to visit Burma in several years, and observers said it could be significant, as the U.S. in recent months has hinted that it is re-evaluating its policy on Burma.
Hillary Clinton, Secretary of State, during her Asian tour last month hinted that the Obama administration is rethinking its policy on Burma, as it is clearly proven that economic sanctions on the military regime have not yielded the desired result.
Nyo Ohn Myint, Foreign Affairs in-charge of the exiled National League for Democracy (NLD-LA), said the visit of Blake indicates that the U.S. is slowly changing its strategy in dealing with Burma’s military rulers.
He said the U.S. is consulting and seeking suggestions from all concerned players regarding its search for a new approach to the Burmese quagmire. He said he had already been aware of a mid-level U.S. official visiting Naypyitaw, and understands that the official will make a few demands of the junta.
“We have suggested to the U.S. [officials] that they need to demand the junta be accountable in honoring the result of the election,” said Nyo Ohn Myint, adding that the U.S. is also in consultation with Burmese opposition groups.
Meanwhile, Aung Naing Oo, a Burmese analyst based in Chiang Mai, Thailand, said it could be an indication that the U.S. is changing its approach towards the Burmese junta.
But, he cautioned the U.S., despite its admittance that sanctions have failed, is unlikely to drastically overhaul its Burma policy.
“The U.S. is likely to maintain a similar policy on Burma, such as calling for democratic changes, though it is also likely to change its style of approach,” Aung Naing Oo said.
He said Obama’s administration seems to be looking at new approaches in engaging the Burmese junta, which the Bush administration had failed to do.
Since 1997, the U.S. has imposed economic sanctions on Burma’s military rulers, and former president George W. Bush further strengthened the measures in July of 2008 in the wake of the junta’s brutal crackdown on the monk-led protests of September 2007.
Regional impact
Though Washington has made no indication of what its new Burma policy could be, observers believe that an altered U.S. policy could weigh heavily on the foreign policies of regional countries, including China.
China, according to Aung Naing Oo, is keen on knowing how the U.S. will approach Burma over the coming years.
“They [regional neighbors] have often asked me, individually, what the U.S. is doing and what its policy is likely to be,” Aung Naing Oo said.
According to Sino-Burmese border based analyst Aung Kyaw Zaw, China’s strategic interests include stability along its borders and business deals – including the building of a gas pipeline from Burma’s Arakan state to Yunnan province.
“It would be hard for China to ignore the relationship between the U.S. and Burma,” Aung Kyaw Zaw told Mizzima in an earlier interview.
Nyo Ohn Myint added that the change in U.S. policy could reduce Burma’s dependency on China, which is worrisome for Beijing.
“But Obama’s administration does seems to be working in consultation with China, and Burma on the other hand would still like to keep China in a comfort zone even if it builds a relationship with the U.S.,” he said.
Impact on opposition
Several observers fear that the Burmese opposition, including the National League for Democracy, could become obsolete if the U.S. drastically changes its policy and begins lifting sanctions and engaging with the junta.
Aung Naing Oo said it is very much likely that the opposition will become irrelevant if it continues advocating for a policy of sanctions and isolation.
However, Nyo Ohn Myint said the opposition, particularly Aung San Suu Kyi, in any scenario cannot be sidelined and that her participation would benefit both the military as well as the opposition since it would be seen as a move forward.
“She is an icon, and without her it will be difficult to move ahead. And her participation would benefit both sides,” he added.
The Obama administration, even if it reconfigures its approach to Burma, will still require Congressional approval in order to implement any change to existing policy, which will be a difficult task unless the Burmese regime can prove that it is implementing substantive change – beginning with the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners.
On Monday, the U.S. State Department, concurring with the decision of the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention that Aung San Suu Kyi’s detention is illegal, reiterated its call on the Burmese regime to release political prisoners.
This shows that the U.S. will continue pressing the junta for the release of political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi, Nyo Ohn Myint concluded.
