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Front Page
A New Burma Strategy: Multilateral Engagement over Isolation
! In North Korea, Bibles are Bombs
Colby Pacheco 29.JUL.09
! A New Burma Strategy: Multilateral Engagement over
Commentary Isolation
As the sham trial of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi draws to a predictable close-- ! Post-Colonial Peacekeeping and Sri Lanka's Civil
it is expected that she will receive a sentence of up to 5 years in prison--and as U.S. Conflict
! Don't Call it a Comeback: The U.S. in Asia
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton concluded a trip to Thailand to meet with heads of the ! U.S. Losing Pakistani Hearts and Minds to China
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Burma is once again a hot topic in ! Asia's Axis of Evil?
international affairs. However, policy makers and commentators of all stripes have routinely ! Axis of Weasels: The Perilous Myanmar-North Korea
focused on wrong approaches when trying to hammer out a policy to deal with Burma’s Alliance
! China Needs to Invest in Itself
introverted military junta. The following three policies should be the foundation for a new ! Jakarta Bombings Illustrate Terrorism’s Global Reach
Burma strategy. (2 of 2)
Asia Quick View
! Asia Quick View, Week of July 20-26, 2009
Policy 1: Broaden the focus of relief for Burmese citizens
Clearly, a new approach is needed to pressure Burma’s ruling military council to confer
political and judicial rights upon its citizens. Nevertheless, a near absolute focus on
democratization has blinded many to alternative paths of relieving the suffering of Burmese
citizens. Nearly everyone from the United Nations down to the smallest non-governmental
organization (NGO) views the nation through a lens of democracy-building. Yes, building
pathways for citizens to engage in civic life is an important priority, but it is far from the only
one.
Burma is a country with horrific rates of disease and mortality. When cyclone Nargis hit the
country last April, approximately 140,000 citizens died, many as a result of inaccessible
health care in the days and weeks that followed the cyclone’s landfall. An important lesson
should have been gleaned from the disaster. Despite the junta’s stubbornness to allow
foreign assistance from many western nations, aid still flowed into the affected region. As
citizens rushed to decide how humanitarian aid should be divided and spent, civic
participation at the local level increased, and an element of autonomy was achieved. The
regime was more concerned with following through on a fraudulent referendum vote.
Cyclone Nargis should have taught policy setters that development assistance and
humanitarian relief efforts can not only relieve suffering for Burmese citizens, but may also
put them on a track to civic engagement. Though a meager start, such actions have proven
to give citizens a pathway toward modest freedoms; something that demands for political
reform have yet to accomplish.

5 Minutes 5 Quotes
Yet, apart from Japan, official levels of aid and development assistance to Burma are much
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painlessly. appears to be looking for a path to development, using China and Vietnam as models. With
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be able to get a “foot in the door” for operations that may one day lead to greater civic
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ehealthinsurance.com Policy 2: Rethink the characterization of the junta
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Cheap Car Insurance Kim Jong-Il and Burmese Senior General Than Shwe may oppress their people, but their
Compare UK car actions are far from irrational. Burma watchers have been all too eager to overlook one of
the most basic schools of political science; the ‘rational choice theory.’ The theory holds By TwitterButtons.net

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Asia Chronicle - The Online Journal of Asian News & Analysis
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30.07.09 18:11
the most basic schools of political science; the ‘rational choice theory.’ The theory holds
that a “rational actor” will take the necessary steps to maximize his/her highest preferences. Daily Pulse Check on Asia
Viewing the junta’s actions as rational may be hard to conceptualize for some, but if we Which Asian country poses the
assume that the junta’s number one preference is to retain power, suddenly violent greatest threat to U.S. security?
crackdowns and repression of the media appear to be much more rational. Policy makers China
would do well to analyze the junta’s preferences, as doing so would better allow them to North Korea
predict how the regime would act when encountering various policies.
Pakistan
Policy 3: Despite everything, engagement is preferable to isolation Afghanistan
Iran
Burma is rich in natural gas, timber, and gems. China and India have made attempts to
Russia
assuage the junta in order to access such natural resources. Many Burmese elites have
second homes and bank accounts in Thailand. Russia and China sell arms to Burma’s vote
generals as well as provide political cover for the regime in the UN Security Council. Such
examples of exploitative capitalism with amoral partners are indicative of how not to engage
Burma.
U.S. President Barack Obama is currently taking steps to reengage the United States with
Southeast Asia; something the Bush administration received wide criticism for neglecting to
do. This past week, Secretary Clinton signed a “friendship” pact with ASEAN, thus marking
the accession of the US to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia. The
Obama administration further plans to appoint a permanent ambassador to ASEAN
headquarters in Jakarta, as the current U.S. ambassador for ASEAN affairs is based in
Washington. Such actions are a good start. An increasing U.S. presence in the region could
allow for not only the continuance of U.S. economic sanctions on the junta, but also an
increased pressure on ASEAN states to push the recalcitrant junta into finally adopting the
ASEAN code of conduct of which it is a signatory.
Effective engagement by the United States and ASEAN allows for the dictation of terms by
nations seeking to change the junta’s behavior. If nations choose to isolate the junta--a
position with which it would be all too comfortable--outside actors would lose the ability to
pressure the junta and would be forced into granting concessions to the regime to dissuade
it from acting improperly; such has been repeatedly the case with North Korea.
An alliance between ASEAN and the United States is a strong sign that a new policy of
dealing with Burma’s intransigence is under way. However, as Secretary Clinton spoke to
Thai television during her visit, she painted the junta as careless oppressors and lambasted
their treatment of Ms. Suu Kyi, saying that a move to expel Burma from ASEAN “would be
an appropriate policy change to consider.” If the United States or ASEAN actually wish to
see progress in Burma, they must act to move beyond the archaic views of Burma laden in
Secretary Clinton’s words.
Colby Pacheco is a Research Fellow for Asia Chronicle. The views expressed are his
own. He can be reached at research@asiachroniclenews.com.
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