The geopolitical stakes of 'Saffron Revolution'
By F William Engdahl
First it's a fact which few will argue that the present military dictatorship of the reclusive General Than Shwe is right up there when it comes to
world-class tyrannies. It's also a fact that Myanmar enjoys one of the world's lowest general living standards. Partly as a result of the
ill-conceived 100% to 500% price hikes in gasoline and other fuels in August, inflation, the nominal trigger for the mass protests led by
saffron-robed Buddhist monks, is unofficially estimated to have risen by 35%.
Ironically the demand to establish "market" energy prices came from the IMF and World Bank.
The UN estimates that the population of some 50 million inhabitants spend up to 70% of their monthly income on food alone. The recent fuel price hike
makes matters unbearable for tens of millions.
Myanmar is also deeply involved in the world narcotics trade, ranking only behind Hamid Karzai's Afghanistan as a source for heroin. As well, it is
said to be Southeast Asia's largest producer of methamphetamines.
This is all understandable powder to unleash a social explosion of protest against the regime.
It is also a fact that the Myanmar military junta is on the hit list of US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and the Bush administration for its
repressive ways. Has the Bush leopard suddenly changed his spots? Or is there a more opaque agenda behind Washington's calls to impose severe
economic and political sanctions on the regime?
Here some not-so-publicized facts help.
This is a very interesting article, that more than suggests the riots were instigated from the outside to put force on Burma to give in some of its
sovereignty to international policing against terrorism. After all Humbali was hiding out in Burma, before they got him. The sledge hammer are more
likely used to make the junta allow bases for operations along its 3000 mile shoreline overlooking all of Bay of Bengal and Sea of Andaman all down to
where the Indian Ocean goes into the Antarctic Sea, geo-political one of the most important stretches of space in the world. That's why the US
secretly desire surveillance station and ready deployment bases on the Myanmar coast.
A major part of the world trade goes through the Malacca Strait, 1.5 miles wide at Singapore. As much as 80 per cent of China's oil passes through
there. Fact each day, more than 12 million barrels in oil supertankers pass through this narrow passage, most en route to the world's fastest-growing
energy market, China, or to Japan.
Obvious that this is geopolitically a spot as hot as the M East, but fortunately not in flames yet. Fire comes with enforcement, and whoever wants to
enforce anything here must take in account an opposition likely military from China. It's their lifeline, they'll defend it, and also gives a reason
why China in super tempo are proceeding with the 1800 miles gasline from deepwater port of Sittwe by the Bay of Bengal to Kumming deep into Yunnan. To
cut out the Malacca Straits would be a huge strategic advance for China.
China's has, as it is now, the upper hand military with its involvement in Burma, who gladly provide sites for Chinese military instalations. With
the US militarization of any part of the world holding fossil reserves, it most certainly has become common sense to China that better put the foot in
the door before others do.
Since it became clear to China that the US was hell-bent on a unilateral militarization of the Middle East oil fields in 2003, Beijing has stepped
up its engagement in Myanmar. Chinese energy and military security, not human rights concerns, drives their policy.
In recent years Beijing has poured billions of dollars in military assistance into Myanmar, including fighter, ground-attack and transport aircraft;
tanks and armored personnel carriers; naval vessels and surface-to-air missiles. China has built up Myanmar railroads and roads and won permission to
station its troops in Myanmar. China, according to Indian defense sources, has also built a large electronic surveillance facility on Myanmar's Coco
Islands and is building naval bases for access to the Indian Ocean.
In fact Myanmar is an integral part of what China terms its "string of pearls", its strategic design of establishing military bases in Myanmar,
Thailand and Cambodia in order to counter US control over the Strait of Malacca chokepoint. There is also energy on and offshore of Myanmar, and lots
of it.
SOURCE | www.atimes.com | Read
more...
What I would fear is, they are preparing, making ready the next theater of conflict in the wars of the last oil.
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Beside all the facts Engdahl is dishing up with, his main message seems to be, thatsocial dispair and misery was not the trigger of late summer's
'spontaneous'' outbreaks of riots in Burma. They very well were the cause, yes, but the size and disciplin points, according to Engdahl, to
infiltration by professionally trained agents. He also gives the US consulate in Chiang Mai as HQ of the psy-op.
I'm not sure what to mean about such a theory. It does make sense, but then the spontanity of the events, a tribute to the human spirit as such, all
those fine words and feelings surrounding the event, they will have to go down the drain, if should be so that the rebellion really was instigated.
[edit on 3/11/2007 by khunmoon]
