ISP China Desk

Now that Myanmar is once again facing international isolation following the violent expulsion of more than 700,000 Muslims of the Rohingya minority ethnicity between 2012-17, Aung San Suu Kyi’s government finds itself more reliant on Beijing’s graces than ever. Suu Kyi, a former Nobel laureate and long-time dissident who was under house arrest by the military junta for nearly two decades, has shown a clear preference for pragmatism by engaging with Beijing to secure major investment commitments. China, in turn, hopes to gain a reliable partner to its south, with a vital strategic outlet to the Indian Ocean.