Myanmar Coup: Pro-democracy protestors demonstrate in front of Chinese embassy

As per recent reports, Hundreds of protesters opposed to Myanmar’s coup protested in front of the Chinese embassy in Yangon on Thursday accusing Beijing of supporting the military coup despite denials by CCP officials.

“Support Myanmar, Don’t support dictators,” read one placard in Chinese and English. One protester told Myanmar media: “Chinese ministers seem to be acting in a way to support the military coup.”However, there was no response from the Chinese officials. 

Late on Wednesday, the Chinese embassy posted a statement on Facebook dismissing reports on the internet of Chinese planes bringing in technical personnel and said the only flights were regular cargo flights importing and exporting goods such as seafood. The embassy’s Facebook page was inaccessible on Thursday.

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When asked about the rumors that China is sending equipment and IT experts to Myanmar, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin denied any such claims.

“There have been false information and rumors about China on issues relating to Myanmar,” he said, reiterating that China was following the situation closely and hoped all parties would bear in mind national development and stability.

China has traditionally been viewed with suspicion in neighboring Myanmar, where it has significant economic and strategic interests and has often backed Myanmar’s position against Western criticism.

While Western countries have strongly condemned the Feb. 1 coup, China has been more cautious - emphasizing the importance of stability. Some Chinese state media referred to the army takeover as a “cabinet reshuffle”.

China nonetheless agreed to a U.N. Security Council statement that called for the release of elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other detainees and voiced concern over the state of emergency.

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President Joe Biden announced Wednesday that his administration will impose sanctions against those involved in last week's military coup in Myanmar and demanded that the country immediately return power to that nation's democratically elected government. 

This move by the USA has been criticized by a lot of defense experts around the world as it will give China a lot of room for political maneuvering in Mynamar. Also, it could turn out to be a fatal blow to the USA's Indo-Pacific plans as China might look to militarize Myanmar with a Pro-CCP military leadership in near future.