Report by : Gan Yung Chyan, KUCINTA SETIA
The Myanmar Civil Aviation Administration announced to various airlines on 1 February local time that Yangon Airport will be closed until the end of April, and all international and domestic flights will be cancelled during this time. The flight suspension on Burmese passengers is further extended to 31 May 2021 on 2 February.
On 3 February, MCAA allowed relief and cargo flights to depart from Yangon for Kuala Lumpur, Guangzhou and Chengdu.
UPDATES 03/02/2021
News (1)
British media: Afraid of angering the CCP, the Biden government debates the nature of Myanmar's "coup"
Reporter : Zheng Gusheng / Editor: Mei Lan / https://www.ntdtv.com/gb/2021/02/02/a103045518.html / Direct translation
The Myanmar military suddenly took over power this week and became the focus of the international political situation. British media quoted news as saying that the changes in Myanmar have plunged the White House into "chaos." The Biden administration is debating whether to characterize this as a "coup" because it is worried that it will anger Beijing and be forced to withdraw aid to Myanmar.
The British newspaper Daily Mail on Tuesday (2 February) quoted a source as saying that although Biden threatened to impose sanctions on Myanmar on Monday, the White House is still debating whether to characterize Myanmar's military takeover as a "coup", and The discussion was very "chaotic".
The source said that the White House is worried that the qualitative "coup" will upset the CCP and be forced to withdraw economic aid.
Senior officials of the US State Department told the US media that how to characterize the Myanmar incident is still under evaluation.
According to the US Foreign Aid Act, the authorities must limit aid to the government that launched a military coup to come to power. However, the "Daily Mail" reported that the US government has just lifted sanctions on Myanmar in recent years, and there is almost no direct assistance to the country.
According to the "Constitution" formulated under the leadership of the Myanmar military government in 2008, after the government is transformed, the military is still given the role of "guardian of the constitution" and has the right to forcibly take over the government in an "emergency. Therefore, whether the military's takeover of the government is "unconstitutional" is still inconclusive. Although some Western countries blamed the Myanmar military, they also avoided using the term "coup".
If the United States characterizes the changes in Myanmar as a "coup," it may impose economic sanctions on Myanmar again, which will harm the interests of the CCP in Myanmar.
The CCP and Myanmar have always had close relations, and maintained "good" interactions with the Burmese Aung San Suu Kyi literati government and military. In January 2020, Xi Jinping and Aung San Suu Kyi reached a consensus on the so-called "China-Myanmar community with a shared future." In addition, Myanmar is also an important node of the CCP’s “One Belt, One Road” initiative. The “China-Myanmar Economic Corridor” supported by China’s investment can help the CCP open up a shortcut to the Indian Ocean, which is of great significance to Beijing’s external expansion.
Shortly before the Myanmar military action, the Chinese Communist Party’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited Myanmar in mid-January and met with Myanmar’s President Win Myint, State Counselor and Foreign Minister Aung San Suu Kyi, and National Defense Forces Commander-in-Chief Min Aung Lai. When meeting with Min Aung Lai, Wang Yi also stated that China "supports the Myanmar military in playing its due role in the process of national transformation and development."
Some analysts believe that the CCP may have instructed or acquiesced to the Myanmar military to take over the government, because it may be easier for Beijing to deal with a military government than a democratic government. However, some people believe that Beijing may not be happy to see changes in Myanmar, because the political turmoil in Myanmar may endanger the advancement of the “Belt and Road” and damage Chinese investment projects in Myanmar.
On Monday, the Myanmar military suddenly detained Aung San Suu Kyi, Win Myint, members of parliament and provincial governors, and announced that the acting president backed by the military would take over. The military stated that it will hold a new general election and transfer power after one year after the country implements a state of emergency.
The military stated that the reason for taking over the government was that there were as many as 8.6 million election frauds in the previous general elections, so the military must take actions to safeguard the constitution.
News (2)
Wang Yi gives peace of mind to the commander of the Myanmar army? Scholars suspect that the CCP manipulated the Myanmar coup
Reporter : Luo Tingting / Editor: Deming / https://www.ntdtv.com/gb/2021/02/03/a103045806.html / Direct translation
A military coup broke out in Myanmar a few days ago, which has affected global public opinion. On the eve of the coup, the Chinese Communist Party’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited Myanmar to meet with the pro-Beijing military leader Min Aung Lai and called each other "brothers." Some scholars suspect that the CCP is behind the Burmese coup, and Wang Yi may have given the commander of the Burmese army "reassurance."
On the eve of the coup, Wang Yi meets with Burmese military chief
In the early morning of 1 February, local time, the Myanmar military suddenly launched a coup and detained Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Min. The commander-in-chief of the Myanmar National Defense Forces Min Aung Lai immediately took over the power.
Min Aung Lai stated on the 2nd that the reason the military took over power was because of “fraud” in the elections last November. After the re-election, the military government will transfer power to the winner.
On the same day, the Myanmar military carried out a major cleansing of the Myanmar government. 11 ministers of central government departments were removed and 24 deputy ministers were relieved of their duties.
Independent columnist and current affairs commentator Gobi Dong told The Epoch Times that, in his view, the Myanmar coup was “the CCP is doing things” from beginning to end.
Just three weeks before the Myanmar military seized power, the Chinese Communist Party’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi met with the military leader Min Aung Lai in the capital of Myanmar. Wang Yi appreciated the "fraternal" friendship between the Myanmar military and the CCP, and said that the CCP supports the Myanmar military to play an "active role."
Hart, the foreign policy spokesperson of the CDU and CDU in the Bundestag, told DW that the CCP might have encouraged the Burmese military to initiate a coup and called on the EU to investigate the coup.
Hart said, “The coup in Myanmar raises a lot of questions. I don’t know if there are any major powers behind the coup. In January this year, the Chinese (Communist) Foreign Minister visited Myanmar and met with representatives of the Burmese military. Perhaps China (community) At that time, the government encouraged the Myanmar military to take over the country’s power. I asked the European Union to conduct detailed investigations into the circumstances behind the entire coup."
According to mainland media reports, when Min Aung Lai met with Wang Yi, he bluntly stated that there was fraud in Myanmar's general election last November and that the military would take action. It is not clear how Wang Yi responded at the time.
However, shortly after Wang Yi visited Myanmar, the Myanmar military launched a military coup. In addition, it is worth mentioning that in the Western countries condemning the Burmese military, the CCP alone not only failed to condemn it, but on the contrary, its attitude was extremely mild.
Avinash Paliwal, a senior lecturer in politics and international relations at the School of Asian and African Studies, University of London, believes that the CCP's acquiescence to the actions of the Myanmar military may have contributed to the coup.
CCP infiltrates the Myanmar military
Some analysts believe that the CCP can manipulate Myanmar’s political situation and provoke civil strife. On the one hand, it can obtain greater benefits from Myanmar; on the other hand, it can also use Myanmar as a threat, just like North Korea, bargaining with the international community.
Gobi Dong pointed out that the Burmese military has been infiltrated very severely by the CCP. Min Aung Lai has interests in the CCP. Many senior military officials are trained in the CCP military academy, just like the police in Hong Kong.
Professor Feng Chongyi, a professor at the University of Technology Sydney and an expert on China issues, also said that the Myanmar military has always had various ties with the CCP. The original Chengdu Military Region sent many officers to serve in the Myanmar army.
Gobi Dong believes that this coup is not just a problem between the Myanmar military and Aung San Suu Kyi, but the CCP used its mercenary (Myanmar military) card to attack Aung San Suu Kyi. "The CCP is the real behind the scenes. Black hand".
He said that although Aung San Suu Kyi has had some economic cooperation with the CCP in recent years, the CCP wants to use Myanmar to open up the passage through the Strait of Malacca. On this key issue, Aung San Suu Kyi insists on protecting the interests of the country of Myanmar, which makes the CCP very annoyed.
Feng Chongyi said that after Aung San Suu Kyi came to power, the relationship with the CCP was very complicated. On the one hand, she wants to get the support of the CCP, but she does not want to be completely controlled by the CCP. Therefore, some projects such as hydropower stations and water conservancy projects under the “Belt and Road” of China and Myanmar have repeated.
A major CCP project in Myanmar is the Kyaukphyu Deepwater Port Project in Rakhine State, costing US$1.3 billion. The port will become Beijing’s gateway to the Indian Ocean. In addition, China and Myanmar have an investment of 8.9 billion US dollars, from Yunnan to Muse Mandalay high-speed rail project. After the project is completed, the CCP will not need to rely entirely on the Strait of Malacca to maintain a smooth energy channel from the Middle East to China.
Wu Qiang, a former lecturer in the Department of Political Science at Tsinghua University, told Free Asia that the Burmese military's power is better for Beijing. The CCP’s dam and oil pipeline construction projects in Myanmar will be subject to some restraints under the leadership of the Democratic League, and the military government’s coming to power means that these restraints can be lifted.
Gobi Dong said, “We can see within a year that the military will cooperate to make the CCP’s “Belt and Road” project be implemented smoothly in Myanmar.
Wu Qiang believes that if Myanmar continues to move towards democracy, it means that it is more politically biased towards the United States. This is something the CCP does not want to see. It is also a very important reason why we believe the CCP supports the coup of the military government in Myanmar.
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