Burma Strengthens Relations with Asean Chair Vietnam

Irrawaddy

The Burmese military junta has recently stepped up military, trading and social relations with Vietnam, Asean’s current chair.

State-run newspapers ran stories about the relationship over the weekend, highlighting Burmese Prime Minister Gen Thein Sein’s meeting on Jan. 15 with Vietnamese deputy ministers of foreign affairs and defense in Naypyidaw.

Few details were given, but observers said it was likely that economic and military ties were  discussed. During the Vietnamese delegation’s visit, officials also held an investment seminar  in Napyidaw.

Burmese Foreign Minister Nyan Win visited Vietnam on Jan.13-14 to attend a ministerial meeting of the Asean Political Security Community (APSC), which was the first Asean meeting after Vietnam became Asean chair for 2010. Nyan Win told his Asean counterparts that this year’s Burmese election would be free and fair.

In recent years, the Burmese military junta has increase relations with the Vietnamese government, signing bilateral agreements involving the military and economic affairs.

The No. 3 ranking general in Burma, Gen Shwe Mann, the joint chief of staff (army, navy, air force) visited Vietnam in October to boost military ties between the two countries.

He met with Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet in Hanoi, and, according to theVietnamese News Agency, signed an agreement as a step toward increasing military cooperation.

Apart from military and economic ties, the two countries have increased cooperation in social areas. Maung Myint, Burma’s minster for religious affairs, made an official visit to Vietnam in December and signed the first bilateral agreement of two Southeast Asian Nations on religious matters.

On Wednesday, reports from Hanoi said that a Vietnamese businessman was behind an effort to carve the largest jade Buddha sculpture in the world, using a 35-ton stone purchased in Burma. Vietnamese President Triet attended the ceremony unveiling the stone.

Of special interest to Burma is Vietnam’s role in international politics. Vietnam is also a member of the “Group of Friends of the UN Secretary-General on Burma.”

The Vietnamese foreign ministry said on its Web site that Vietnam supports Burma’s regional and international integration. When Vietnam was a member of the UN Security Council in 2008-09, the Vietnamese delegate supported a non-interference policy on Burma’s domestic affairs.

This post is in: ASEAN, Campaign Updates