It’s a bit 2007 I suppose, but Phoenix Weekly, an influential current affairs magazine in China, has an interview with Yawd Serk, head of the Shan States Army, a separatist, anti-government militia in Myanmar, partly translated at Danwei.
PW: What kind of attention do you want from China? YS: First, and most importantly, is to tell the Burmese military to stop the slaughter, to stop killing civilians. Second, have the Burmese government respect the peace agreement. If there is chaos in the Shan State, many refugees will flee to China and Thailand. We do not wish for the people of the Shan State to become refugees and flee to other countries, but they are in a difficult situation. If China can act, if it can be a mediator and get all armed parties to sit down together for talks, that would be good.PW: You believe that China can be of more use, that it is better able to solve Burma's problems?
YS: Yes. I think it can. China has invested a lot in Burma; we do not want to see China just chase after profit. If they invest but profit does not make its way down to the people, we do not endorse that. We hope that China can increase stability in Burma. However, the Burmese army is smart; they won't simply listen to what China says. They will use India and Russia to resist China. If they are pressured by China, they can play the India or the Russia card.
The first paragraph looks to me like a coded message that unless China acts then it could have a refugee crsis on its hands - stabilising its southern border is an important consideration in Chinese regional policy. The next seems to indicate that at least one dissident group finds Chinese involvement in the country preferable to the likely alternatives.
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