China sees Myanmar as a land bridge to the Indian Ocean and intends to take controlling stake in the country as most of the oil and other commodities imported in China come through the Strait of Malacca which India and other western powers can choke in case of a conflict.
Sanjhi Soch buero : Beijing has tightened its grip on Myanmar by pushing more and more of infrastructural projects largely funded by Chinese loans that Myanmar was to repay in the future. The last decade of China, that is synonymous with Xi Jinping’s expansionist agenda, has only exacerbated it. China’s game plan is clear: create a circle of excessive debt and take a controlling stake with majority shares in each of the projects.
If we go by the data of the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Economic Relations, Myanmar, China’s foreign direct investment in Myanmar between 1988-89 and 2010-11 was US $9.6 billion. This was the time when the military directly ruled Myanmar. Since 2011, it has increased to US $11.9 billion. China is Myanmar’s largest business partner, sharing the maximum chunk of import and export business.China is developing China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC) and almost all big and small infrastructure projects are funded by Chinese loans which come with very high interest rate. China under CMEC, that is part of its wider Belt and Road Initiative, has proposed 38 projects so far, but burdened by Chinese loans, Myanmar has approved only 9 projects so far.
