Sinomania!

As with the border between USA and Mexico, drug wars in Burma or Myanmar are leading to violent clashes and refugees. Back in 2002 the military of Burma's ruling junta cracked down heavily on poppy growers and related drug refining in the autonomous Shan state along the border with China and Thailand. After fields and villages were destroyed the opium business moved into the Eastern Shan area.

Eastern Shan is ethnically Chinese and its most powerful resident is a man named Sai Leun aka Lin Mingxian, a former Red Guard under Mao, called by some Western Press a Chinese drug lord or "warlord." He is head of an entity called the National Democratic Alliance Army-Eastern Shan State (NDAA-ESS) which just celebrated a 20 year cease fire with Burma's central government. The most powerful militia group in Shan is the United Wa State Army (there is no Wa state) with perhaps as many as 20,000 soldiers. The Wa are in a standoff with the ruling junta. Interestingly, Eastern Shan has (or had?) the highest concentration of pro-junta militias. Its primary town is Mung Ton said to be a haven for drugs and prostitution frequented by Chinese tourists.

There is legitimate trade in the region. Part of Shan state is juxtaposed between China (Yunnan Province), Laos, and Thailand. Just this week a Chinese envoy from neighboring Xixuangbanna autonomous prefecture (famed for its elephants and a popular tourist park) was sent to the region to discuss the recent run up in transit fees being charged in the Shan state. There is a larger effort guided by Beijing to increase trade in the region. A possible Kunming to Chittagong railway (discussed earlier on this blog) could go through the Shan state. And a gas pipeline under development by Korean multinational Daewoo, China National Petroleum Corp., and others, may go through northern Shan state. And several dam projects along the Salween River are planned for Eastern Shan.

Yunnan Province is relying on increased energy projects, transport links, and trade through Burma for future growth with the full backing of Beijing. Instability and chaos on the border will only setback these efforts. Beijing has sent troops to the border and a "senior diplomat" to confer with the ruling junta.

Much of the information in press coverage of this crisis originates with the US Campaign for Burma and the Shan Herald News Agency (shanland.org). Both are funded (in part) by Washington's National Endowment for Democracy (NED)....

The government of Bangladesh is actively seeking China's help in developing a rail link through Burma (Myanmar) at the same time provincial level mandarins in Yunnan Province are seeking a link between Kunming and the Bangladeshi port of Chittagong.

The rail link would close a gap in the long sought after UNESCAP "Trans-Asian Railway" project and cross one of the most remote and undeveloped regions of the world.

Chittagong is Bangladesh's chief seaport and main center for industrial development being the location of the country's only steel plant and oil refinery. Chittagong is well poised for container handling development and has deep water channel and large frontage for container ships. Chinese companies have been active in developing the port facilities at Chittagong for several years. Chittagong is identified by war strategists as one of China's "String of Pearls" - potential navy bases and connected ports to loosen the grip on Chinese trade flows through the Straits of Malacca...

Although most of the photos from the ground in Yangon, Myanmar (Burma), appear to come from the the same source and show a crowd of monks numbering perhaps in the thousands, the tagline "100,000 Pro-Democracy Protesters" has taken root in the Anglo-American press. Combined with a speech from President Bush condemning the ruling "junta" of the country, the stage appears set for a showdown. But do we really have any idea what is going on there apart from the black and white creations of America's premiere (and oh so trustworthy) newspapers?