What happened?
On Sunday, the Southeast Asian nation of Burma staged one of its first elections since a military coup in 2021. That takeover reversed an imperfect but tangible democratic opening for the country, saw brutal crackdowns on protesting citizens, and sparked an ongoing civil war. Meanwhile, neighboring China – the United States’ key geostrategic adversary in the region (perhaps the world) – seeks to “manage the chaos” and maintain supply chains of rare earth minerals from Burma.
Why it matters
Burma’s military government is running sham elections in hopes of stabilizing the country it threw into chaos in 2021. It also seeks the veneer of public legitimacy their rule has lacked these past five years since seizing power from the civilian-elected government. Many citizens, however, understand that political opposition has been largely banned and others report voting out of fear. And regardless of the outcome, the country – less than half of which is controlled by the junta as it battles various armed ethnic groups – will continue to be fractured.
Through all this, though, the Chinese Communist Party fills the influence vacuum left by Washington’s absence. When America retreats from its role as a champion for freedom, it allows Beijing to leverage the instability by developing relations with various Burmese power brokers to secure access to strategic ports and rare earth minerals. These are all things that fuel China’s global competition with the United States.
Bottomline
Generally, America’s support for global freedom and democracy is a worthy foreign policy goal – particularly when considering challenges posed by cooperation among authoritarian powers like China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea. Democracies who share U.S. values are likely to be reliable friends that help Washington pursue national interests related to security, trade, and economic growth.
Conversely, authoritarian governments sow instability and security threats. The example of Burma shows that U.S. adversaries will also attempt to take advantage of that chaos – particularly in the absence of American leadership. In allowing that to happen, Washington puts itself in last place for shaping global events. That’s a losing foreign policy.
Alternatively, Washington should place its considerable political and economic might on the scale and act as a counterweight to Beijing in Burma. A free and democratic Burma would be more naturally inclined to do business with the United States. And positioned on China’s Southern border, it would be a well-placed ally.
