Quake Aid Overshadowed by Outrage at China’s Support for Myanmar Junta

[geovalin]

Chinese Embassy in Myanmar

 

YANGON — Despite providing significant aid in the aftermath of Myanmar’s deadly earthquake, China is facing a firestorm of criticism over its continued support for the country’s military regime, which many blame for the disaster’s high death toll and ongoing violence.

 

Chinese officials were quick to highlight their humanitarian efforts, claiming to be the first to deploy rescue teams and the largest contributor of aid. But Myanmar citizens, though grateful for the assistance, remain deeply angered by Beijing’s political and military backing of the junta.

 

Outrage peaked when Chinese pressure led the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), a major ethnic armed group, to withdraw from the northern Shan State capital of Lashio, effectively handing it over to the junta without a fight. Many see the move as a betrayal of the pro-democracy uprising that had gained momentum through Operation 1027—a coordinated offensive that dealt the military some of its worst defeats.

 

“The fall of Lashio was a turning point—not because we lost, but because China decided we would,” said a Shan resistance fighter, who asked not to be named.

 

China’s intervention is widely viewed as motivated by self-interest. The regime protects Beijing’s $6 billion in annual border trade and its flagship Belt and Road projects in Myanmar, including the Kyaukphyu deep-sea port and critical oil and gas pipelines. Analysts say a collapse of military rule would threaten those investments, prompting Beijing to prioritize stability over democracy.

 

Beijing has supplied the junta with weapons, including drones and warplanes used in deadly airstrikes against civilians. Since the March 28 quake, more than 200 people have been killed in such attacks, even amid a formal ceasefire. China has remained silent.

 

“China is not neutral,” said political analyst Maung Kavi. “It is enabling a regime that continues to bomb its own people.”

Even as it sent earthquake aid, China provided the junta with prefabricated offices and furniture to help restore its administration—moves seen as strengthening authoritarian rule under the guise of disaster relief.

 

The backlash is stark. Social media users have expressed bitterness that China helped the regime recapture territory while civilians die from neglect and airstrikes. Many had hoped resistance gains would pressure the junta into collapse, especially after key towns in Shan and Mandalay Regions fell.

 

But after Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s visit to Naypyitaw last year, Beijing reportedly persuaded the MNDAA to halt its advance, and closed border crossings to throttle resistance offensives.

 

Most recently, Beijing hosted junta chief Min Aung Hlaing in Kunming and brokered talks between the military and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), which has so far refused to cede key trade towns. But fears persist that China will again pressure ethnic groups to surrender gains.

 

In Myanmar, where anti-China sentiment has surged since the 2021 coup, many now view China’s role not as that of a peace broker, but as a powerbroker backing military rule.

 

“Give us medicine, not missiles,” read one viral comment on Myanmar social media. “If China really wants to help, it should stop propping up our oppressors.”

 

-2025-05-08