Call for Japan to be bridge to Myanmar junta

TOKYO • Japan should play a bridging role to Myanmar's junta rather than follow the Western policy of regime change, said a senior official at the Japan Myanmar Association, which has strong ties with Myanmar's military, or Tatmadaw.

"I argue that Japan must position itself as a bridge between the Tatmadaw and the United States and other democratic countries rather than blindly aligning itself with the Western policy of regime change," Mr Yusuke Watanabe, the association's secretary-general, said in an opinion piece for The Diplomat magazine.

The Japan Myanmar Association is a private group that Mr Watanabe's father - politician Hideo Watanabe - launched to rally support for the wave of Japan's investment in the South-east Asian country. The group includes retired bureaucrats and business executives, and members of big Japanese firms.

Former Cabinet minister Hideo Watanabe has long been Tokyo's point man for economic relations, backing Myanmar's huge development project, the Thilawa Special Economic Zone, and has a long track record of working closely with the junta, including its leader Min Aung Hlaing.

Myanmar's military overthrew the elected government on Feb 1, citing alleged fraud in an election three months earlier, and has since waged a deadly crackdown that has killed hundreds and displaced tens of thousands of people.

Japan, a major aid donor with long ties with Myanmar, has not placed explicit sanctions against the Myanmar military, unlike other nations such as the US and Britain.

The Japanese government did halt negotiations on new aid to Myanmar, but not existing aid projects.

"Leveraging its decades-long economic cooperation, Japan can now directly work with the Tatmadaw to reverse China's geo-economic influence," Mr Yusuke Watanabe said. He also added a warning about Russia's growing influence in Myanmar.

Any drastic move to cut ties with Myanmar's military could result in China winning more influence, a senior Japanese official told Reuters in February after the coup.

Chinese investment in Myanmar has surged in recent years, driven by Beijing's Belt and Road infrastructure plan.

Months of violence have taken a toll on the economy, and increasingly, armed ethnic groups are fighting back against the junta.

The leader of Myanmar's Roman Catholic community, Cardinal Charles Maung Bo, has called for attacks on places of worship to end after he said four people died and more than eight were wounded when a group of mainly women and children sought refuge in a church during fighting this week.

The conflict between the army and forces opposed to military rule has escalated in recent days in eastern Myanmar, near the borders of Shan and Kayah states, with dozens of security forces and local fighters killed, according to residents and media reports.

Thousands of civilians have fled their homes because of the fighting and there have also been many casualties.

REUTERS