Burma’s saviour

While India largely ignores the unfolding political drama in Burma, where Buddhist monks and nuns have given a new boost to the pro-democracy movement in recent weeks, China seems to be rapidly repositioning itself.

For more than a decade, China and India have defied international attempts to isolate Burma’s armed forces, which have ruled with an iron hand after crushing a popular uprising in 1988, in their relentless rivalry to expand their influence.

With two large neighbours courting them, the Burmese generals could easily ignore pressures from the

Western countries as well as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations that has sought to embark on a “constructive engagement” of the dictatorship.

As renewed protests in Burma galvanise the United Nations to consider new sanctions against the regime, New Delhi is in the danger of being caught flat-footed while Beijing is projecting itself as a potential mediator in the gathering crisis.

The former Chinese foreign minister and current state councillor, Tang Jiaxuan, met the Burmese Foreign Minister U. Nyan Win and urged him to promote internal stability through national reconciliation.

“China whole-heartedly hopes that Myanmar will push forward a democracy process that is appropriate for the country,” Tang told the minister, according to the Chinese media. As Beijing presents itself as a “responsible stakeholder”, New Delhi’s move to send the Union Petroleum Minister Murli Deora this week to Burma is being seen as “too crude” by the Burmese dissidents.

Nuclear sub

While India talks in whispers about its long-delayed national programme to build nuclear powered submarines, China was showing off its second generation nuclear powered attack submarine. Last week, official Chinese media published pictures of the Type 093 nuclear submarine.

The Type 093 subs, known as “Shang” class in the West, will replace five first generation Han-class attack submarines (Type 091) — widely described as obsolete and noisy — that were first seen in the late 1970s. Construction of Type 093 submarines began in the mid-1990s and the first two vessels were launched in 2002 and 2003. The images of the 6,000-tonne nuclear-powered boats have been a closely guarded secret until recently.

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