How do you get China to approve what it has never accepted for its backyard?
Condemn the Burmese military for the February 1 coup and the murderous violence that followed… Although having strained bilateral relations with Beijing, the United Kingdom tried it for six days with success after 'a negotiation with twists and turns.
To read also: The head of the UN hopes for an awakening of "consciousness" of the Burmese soldiers
"Criticizing the military is a first for China,"
notes a European diplomat on condition of anonymity, still surprised by the Chinese turn while Beijing has always qualified the crisis in Burma as
"an internal affair".
According to several diplomatic sources, this turnaround can be explained by a more peaceful Sino-American relationship, without the brutal outburst of Washington as under Donald Trump, and by the
"embarrassment"
of China in the face of a coup that brought it down. taken aback and which leaves her without a strategy to end the crisis.
"The Chinese do not want to be seen as the godfathers of the junta",
sums up a diplomat, also on condition of anonymity.
"They are nervous, have not found what can be the right answer",
adds an ambassador, asking not to be identified.
According to him, the important thing for Beijing is
"the stability"
of Burma and its borders with China,
"no matter what type"
of stability, whether it is ensured by the military or civilians.
And today with daily protests this is not the case.
In mid-February, Chinese Ambassador to Burma Chen Hai said the military takeover, which ended ten years of democracy in Burma,
"was not at all what China would want. see ”
and specified that Beijing had
“ not been informed in advance of the political change in the country ”.
The unanimous declaration of the UN Security Council on Wednesday, however, does not include the words
"coup"
, never recognized as such in Beijing or Moscow, nor any mention of possible
additional
"measures"
, opening the door. international sanctions.
These two references appeared in the first text proposed Friday by London, in charge of the Burmese file at the UN, as in a second given Monday evening to its 14 Council partners, according to copies obtained by AFP.
For China and Russia, these were "red lines" not to be crossed.
But India and Vietnam, two non-permanent members of the Council, had the same.