Commentary
As Burma (also known as Myanmar) reels from a devastating earthquake, communist China is quietly tightening its grip—arming the junta, blocking aid, and using the crisis as an opportunity to advance Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s global domination agenda.
On March 28, a catastrophic 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck central Burma, killing
more than 3,600 people and leaving thousands more injured, homeless, or buried beneath the rubble. The Beijing-backed military junta not only failed to send rescue teams or supplies to many of the hardest-hit areas but also resumed its brutal bombing campaign—using Chinese-made aircraft and drones to launch airstrikes on civilian populations.
These attacks are made possible by the support of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which continues to bankroll the junta with money,
weapons, and aircraft. Since the 2021 coup that overthrew Burma’s democratically elected government, resistance forces have reclaimed
more than 75 percent of the country’s territory, according to a BBC World Service investigation report.
Many observers—including ethnic armed group leaders, international analysts, and local pro-democracy factions—believe that the junta would have collapsed long ago were it not for continued
support from China. In this way, the CCP is directly complicit in prolonging the suffering of the Burmese people, sustaining a regime that was already driving the nation toward collapse well before the earthquake struck.
Even before the earthquake, the junta had cut electricity, internet, and phone service across most of Burma, maintaining
only limited access in junta-controlled areas, primarily in the center of the country. These blackouts left earthquake survivors cut off from their families and the outside world. The regime has also reportedly begun confiscating Starlink devices—one of the few tools civilians and aid workers can use to access independent communication networks.
In the aftermath of the quake, civilians were forced to dig through the rubble with their bare hands in search of the dead and wounded—efforts made even more difficult by the lack of power and communication.
“They are digging with their hands,” said one woman from central Burma, describing the desperation of searching for survivors who had already been trapped under the debris for more than a week.
The junta has gone to
great lengths to block
international aid teams, denying entry to teams from the United States, Taiwan, and other countries and heavily obstructing cross-border efforts from Thailand. It has refused visas and imposed sweeping restrictions to keep out not only aid workers
but also journalists, human rights observers, and anyone who might report negatively on its actions. Meanwhile, it has welcomed personnel from China and Russia—but only to operate in junta-controlled areas, including the regime’s stronghold in Naypyidaw.
The CCP’s involvement in Burma is driven by strategic interests tied to the
China–Myanmar Economic Corridor, a key component of Beijing’s
Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The region around Sagaing, where the earthquake struck hardest, is home not only to suffering communities but also to major Chinese-funded infrastructure projects, including pipelines, transportation corridors, and military-linked developments.
In exchange for access to Burma’s vast natural resources—jade, rare earths, timber, and energy—China supplies the junta, officially known as the State Administrative Council (SAC),
with weapons, aircraft, and surveillance technology used to crush dissent.
Beijing has positioned itself as a peacemaker by urging ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) to cease fighting, but these appeals consistently focus on regions tied to Chinese investments. Despite its claims of neutrality, the CCP provides direct military and financial support to the SAC while
backing select EAOs—primarily those in cease-fires with the junta and acting as proxy forces against civilians.
The United Wa State Army exemplifies a China-aligned EAO. Its economy is deeply entwined with China—market goods are mostly Chinese, the yuan is the local currency, and Mandarin is widely spoken alongside the Wa language. Wa generals and soldiers often have Chinese names, and Mandarin has become the main language of instruction in schools.
Wa State operates as a de facto autonomous enclave in Shan State, where other China-aligned EAOs, such as the Shan State Progress Party and the National Democratic Alliance Army, also serve Beijing’s strategic interests by reinforcing junta control in contested areas. During the earthquake crisis, these groups are providing security for Chinese aid teams, which deliver relief exclusively to junta-controlled zones and only with regime approval.
The CCP has consistently provided the junta with political cover and international legitimacy, backing a regime that seized power by force. In November 2024, Beijing hosted junta leader Min Aung Hlaing for a state visit—an unmistakable show of support. As a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, Beijing has repeatedly blocked or watered down resolutions condemning the junta’s brutality, shielding it from global accountability.
While entire towns in resistance-held zones remain in ruins—cut off from food, water, and medical aid—the Chinese regime helps prop up a regime that has abandoned its own people, reinforcing the illusion of stability.
Human rights groups and international organizations have
documented the junta’s gross mishandling of the earthquake response and its deliberate intensification of
civilian suffering.
If Washington continues to cede influence in Burma, it will allow China to secure a strategic foothold with direct access to
the Bay of Bengal—extending
Chinese naval power into the Indian Ocean just south of India and threatening the region’s maritime balance. This corridor, enabled by the China–Myanmar Economic Corridor, would also serve as a key route for overland energy imports, allowing Beijing to bypass the Strait of Malacca—a critical piece of the CCP’s military calculus if it moves on Taiwan.
Without a counterbalance, China and Russia will continue propping up the Burmese junta indefinitely, with no pressure for real elections, human rights, or peace. If the United States hopes to uphold democratic principles, support regional allies such as India, and prevent Burma from becoming another Chinese satellite state, it must act now—before the damage becomes irreversible.
Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
