(Reuters) – The Chinese embassy in Myanmar on Sunday accused the United States of “scandalously smearing” the country and forging a gap with its Southeast Asian neighbors over the disputed South China Sea and Hong Kong, as tensions mount among the superpowers.
FILE PHOTO: An aerial view of China occupied the Subi Reef on the Spratly Islands in the disputed South China Sea on April 21, 2017. REUTERS / Francis Malasig / Pool
In response to the United States’ claims, Beijing was undermining the sovereignty of its neighbors, the Chinese embassy said that US agencies abroad were doing “disgusting things” to contain China and had shown a “selfish, hypocritical, despicable face and ugly”.
Last week, the United States tightened its position in the South China Sea and said it would back countries in the region that challenge Beijing’s claim of approximately 90% of the strategic waterway.
In a statement Saturday, the United States embassy in Yangon called for China’s actions in the South China Sea and Hong Kong, where Beijing has imposed strict new national security laws, part of a “broader pattern for undermine the sovereignty of its neighbors. ”
The U.S. statement drew parallels between China’s actions in the South China Sea and Hong Kong with large-scale Chinese investment projects in Myanmar that the United States warned could become debt traps, along with trafficking in Myanmar women to China as brides, and the entry of drugs from China to Myanmar.
“This is how modern sovereignty is often lost, not through dramatic and open action, but through a cascade of smaller actions that lead to its slow erosion over time,” said the US embassy.
In its reprimand, China said the statement showed a “sour grape” attitude on the part of the United States toward “the burgeoning China-Myanmar relations” and that it was “yet another farce on a world tour by the US authorities to divert focus on internal problems and seek selfish political gains. ”
“The United States must first look in the mirror to see if it still looks like a major country now,” he said.
The Chinese embassy in Yangon did not return phone calls seeking further comment. The United States embassy was not immediately available for comment.
Myanmar has increasingly become a battleground for influence between the two countries since relations between the government led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and the West were strained by the treatment it received of the Rohingya Muslim minority. .
Author and historian Thant Myint-U told Reuters in an email that although the country had negligible economic value to rivals, its strategic importance as a bridge between mainland China and the Bay of Bengal was difficult to ignore.
“Myanmar’s instincts since independence in 1948 are to try to be friends with everyone, but it is not clear if that will continue to be possible, in this next period of rivalry of increasingly feverish superpowers,” he said.
“The great weight of China’s giant industrial revolution next door is already transforming Myanmar; If billionaire infrastructure projects are added to the mix, the border between the two countries will be increasingly difficult to see, “he said.
“It is important to remember that Myanmar was one of the few countries in the world where the last Cold War led to an armed struggle for powers that in turn led to a military dictatorship and decades of self-imposed isolation.”
Edition by Lincoln Feast.
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