Myanmar Foreign Relations

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Steve Dowall

2:33am Monday 6 February

Myanmar Foreign Relations

Myanmar had traditionally pursued a non-aligned foreign policy since becoming independent in 1948. From 1962, when General Ne Win seized power, until the late 1970s Myanmar isolated itself from the world, and pursued autarkic economic policies. The isolation was relaxed in the 1980's. But following the events of mid-1988, and in particular the violence which accompanied the military takeover in September of that year, Western countries adopted policies which reflected their distaste for the military government. Aid was cut off and official contacts were restricted.

The opening up of Myanmar's economy occasioned considerable interest in the exploitation of the resources available -forestry, fishing and minerals, with agreements being signed with Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, Japan and South Korea.

More recently, Myanmar has concentrated on building up good relations with its neighbours - notably China, India and Thailand, but also Singapore, Indonesia and Japan. In July 1997 Myanmar, along with Laos, became a full member of ASEAN. ASEAN has a policy of constructive engagement with Myanmar but its members are becoming increasingly worried about the prospective damage to ASEAN's reputation if there remains little progress in Myanmar. That said, the ASEANs are positively encouraging of the junta's recent announcements and maintain that the UN-led process must take precedence.