The military coup in Burma is a critical initial test for the Biden government on how it will respond to the crisis amid its pledge to coordinate with international allies and to consult Congress more closely on foreign policy issues.
President Biden was quick to denounce the military takeover and arrest of democratically elected government officials, including the Nobel Prize winner and leader of the National Democratic League by Aung San Suu Kyi, who rules the majority.
The State Department announced on Tuesday that it formally saw the crisis as a coup d’état, triggering certain sanctions and a review of US aid to the country.
There is strong bipartisan support from lawmakers for the government to take significant action in response to the military coup in Burma, also known as Myanmar.
Congressional advisers on both sides of the corridor received quick communication from State Department officials to inform them of events taking place in the country quickly.
Republican and Democratic lawmakers are united in their condemnation of Myanmar’s democratic setback and are deeply committed to ensuring the protection of vulnerable minority communities like the Rohingya, who have suffered at the hands of the Burmese military in what the United Nations claims to be genocide. Suu Kyi is a complicated partner for the West. She enjoys popular democratic support at home, but has been criticized internationally for failing to defend the rights of the Rohingya.
“The government made the right decision in determining that a coup occurred in Myanmar,” said Sen. James Risch (R-Idaho), outgoing chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, in a statement. “This determination will ensure that US taxpayer dollars do not benefit the military junta that mistakenly seized power from the civilian government.”
The Burmese military, Tatmadaw, carried out his coup on Monday morning, local time, issuing a national emergency statement in response to what he said was the government’s failure to address its allegations of fraud during the November elections, a charge contested by and international election observers.
They arrested Burmese President U Win Myint, dozens of other political leaders, their families and civil society activists, according to the United Nations. Human rights groups reported internet shutdowns, phone cuts and bank closures.
The Tatmadaw handed over control of the country for one year to military chief General Min Aung Hlaing, who was sanctioned by the U.S. in 2019 for his role in human rights abuses and corruption related to the Rohingya’s ethnic cleansing.
A congressional adviser said the Biden administration’s assessment was that things looked somewhat peaceful in the country at the moment and that the Americans are safe. The aide said the United States is trying to impose additional sanctions on Tatmadaw.
US influence through sanctions is limited. The Trump administration has largely restricted the amount of U.S. foreign aid to the government of Burma. The vast majority of the $ 135 million in US aid goes to civil society and humanitarian projects.
“The Trump administration, whatever its other issues, has not been soft on human rights in Myanmar,” said Joshua Kurlantzick, senior member for Southeast Asia at the Council on Foreign Relations.
More telling will be how Biden can leverage diplomacy to influence Burma’s military to turn the tide.
State Department spokesman Ned Price said American officials in Washington and around the world are “burning phones” to contact allies with similar ideas in Europe, the Indo-Pacific and Southeast Asia in efforts to restore democracy.
“It really affects our approach to foreign policy in general,” said Price. “We understand that, in all challenges, the United States will be the most powerful country in the world, but bringing together these allies, these partners, are multipliers of forces.”
The international community’s response has been somewhat divided, with Western democracies vigorously condemning the coup, while Myanmar’s regional countries and neighbors are seen as taking a more cautious approach.
An important nation is Japan, which regional experts consider to have close economic ties to Myanmar and the ability to exert strategic influence, but may not be willing to do so.
“They are reluctant to take a tougher approach to Myanmar because it is an important place of strategic and economic importance for them,” said Kurlantzick, of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Although Japan initially called the events in Myanmar “a grave concern”, Japan on Wednesday joined the G7 countries to explicitly condemn the coup, uniting with European and American allies, including the United States
Regional experts are also taking notice of the response from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which has so far shown quiet concern. A statement by the intergovernmental organization, which is under the presidency of Brunei, did not address the role of the military in overthrowing democratic government.
A congressional adviser said the ASEAN statement signals that it is unlikely to take action, given the organization’s requirement to govern by consensus among its members, which include Burma.
“ASEAN is unlikely to do anything about it, which is unfortunate, but it is certainly something to watch out for if individual ASEAN member states push for something, even if it is unsuccessful.”
The Philippines has signaled that it is without intervention in Myanmar, with a spokesman for Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte calling the military takeover “an internal matter”, a statement allegedly repeated by a Thai government official.
Thailand suffered its own military coup in 2014. Its current civilian government is widely seen as a representative of the military government, with a former army chief serving as prime minister.
China, for its part, has distanced itself from criticizing the situation in Myanmar, with the Foreign Ministry stating that Beijing is a friendly friend of Rangoon and expressing “the hope that all parties in Myanmar will deal adequately with their differences under the constitutional and legal framework and maintain political and social stability. ”
State Department spokesman Price said that instability in Burma “is not in the interest of the Chinese,” a point echoed by Kurlantzick.
“China has built a close relationship with Aung San Suu Kyi. The military in Myanmar and China are not on good terms,” he said. “The idea that this is in any way beneficial to China is wrong.”
Chris Ankersen, a professor at the Center for Global Affairs at the NYU School of Professional Studies, said the rare alignment between Washington and Beijing could represent an opportunity for cooperation.
“National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan
Jake SullivanStudy group recommends Biden postponing the withdrawal from Afghanistan Coup in Burma represents an initial test for Biden’s foreign policy Xi Jinping increases pressure on Biden – Will Kim Jong Un join the fray? MORE he recently signaled that he wants to see a Chinese dimension added to all foreign policy issues. This represents a clear opening to see how that intention unfolds, ”he said in an email to The Hill.
That cooperation did not happen during an emergency meeting on Myanmar at the United Nations Security Council, where the United States and China are permanent members.
Tuesday’s meeting ended without a joint statement, despite the UN special envoy to Burma, Christine Schraner Burgener, urging the organization to “collectively send a clear signal of support for democracy in Myanmar”.
“I ask this Council, especially any member who has influence over the military, to exercise its preventive and human rights obligations by helping to ensure that lives and civil liberties are protected,” said Schraner Burgener.