Burma: A Strategic Perspective

Abstract

During the past decade, the United States has condemned the actions of the Burmese government, halted all bilateral economic and military assistance, suspended most-favored nation trading status, and generally tried to isolate the oppressive regime in Rangoon. Despite these policies of isolation and sanction, the regime continues to be as dismissive of human rights as ever. Meanwhile, a growing economic, political and military embrace of Burma by China has not gone unnoticed by the members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). ASEAN has argued that Burma should be integrated into the region and that policies that quarantine it only backfire, since a country that has welcomed isolation cannot be punished by it. Thus, not only might the United States fail to change the behavior of the Burmese regime, it might also let China develop a quasi-protectorate role over it and allow the human rights issue to divide the United States from its ASEAN friends.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Nov 01, 1996
Accession Number
ADA394169

Entities

People

  • Marvin Ott

Organizations

  • National Defense University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Ground and Sea Platforms
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Asia
  • Fighter Aircraft
  • Foreign Policy
  • Governments
  • Human Rights
  • International Organizations
  • Law
  • Military Assistance
  • Military Intelligence
  • National Security
  • Rocket Launchers
  • Security
  • Southeast Asia
  • State Law
  • United States
  • War Colleges

Readers

  • Library and Information Science/ Studies, Southeast Asia Studies, Bibliography of Vietnam and Lao Studies.
  • Political Violence and Terrorism Studies.
  • Strategic Security Studies