Maung Kavi
The Myanmar junta has formed a committee to expedite implementation of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) infrastructure projects in the country, according to the regime’s latest gazette published in late October.
Established on Aug. 15 and led by junta chief Min Aung Hlaing himself, the Leading Committee for Implementation of the BRI includes Union ministers, deputy ministers, heads of Union-level agencies, and chief ministers of states and regions. It is tasked with coordinating and implementing BRI-related projects across national and regional levels, particularly those forming part of the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC) and China-Myanmar Border Economic Cooperation Zones.
The BRI, China’s global trade and infrastructure strategy, seeks to connect Asia and Europe through networks of roads, railways and sea routes. Myanmar is among more than 70 participating countries and hosts several major projects under the initiative, including the CMEC.
CMEC projects include the Kyaukphyu Deep-Sea Port in Rakhine State and planned railway links between Rakhine and China’s Yunnan Province.
The Kyaukphyu project is central to China’s strategic ambition to secure stable access to the Indian Ocean while spurring development in its southwestern provinces. Oil and gas pipelines already run from Kyaukphyu through central Myanmar to Yunnan, serving as a key artery for Beijing’s energy imports.
But Myanmar’s ongoing civil war has disrupted trade routes and slowed the Chinese projects, prompting repeated demands from Beijing that the junta prioritize implementation and safeguard its personnel and investments.
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