Myanmar’s Suu Kyi keeps open door to US and China

George Chen in Honolulu

Stronger ties with the United States, which is keen to increase its political influence in Asia, should not be considered a challenge to Myanmar’s long-time relationship with China, opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi said.
Myanmar’s democracy icon also called it presumptuous that Beijing should learn from her country’s democratic reform – though the two countries may share one thing in common: corruption, said the Nobel Peace Prize winner.


Suu Kyi was speaking to the South China Morning Post in a small group interview on the sidelines of the Rotary Global Peace Forum on Saturday in Honolulu. Citing Myanmar’s long road to democracy, she said China’s political direction should be ultimately decided by Chinese people rather than external factors.
Suu Kyi believed Myanmar was not faced with an either/or decision when it comes to US and China ties.
“I don’t think [Burma-US] needs to be an exclusive relationship. Nor does it mean we have to be friends either with the US or China. We need to be friends of both,” she said.
“China is a neighbour and the US is a very, very powerful nation that is eager to help with emerging democracy,” she said.
Suu Kyi was kept under house arrest by Myanmar’s military regime for two decades over political dissent. She returned to the political stage last year after President Thein Sein launched reforms that allowed her to be elected to the parliament.
On Friday, she voiced confidence that the country’s powerful military will support changes to the constitution that would allow her to become president. She said she was hopeful that parliament would approve constitutional revisions even though the army controls a vital number of seats.
“I am not unduly worried by it. I think that the members of our military, like the rest of our nation, would like to see Burma a happier, stronger, more harmonious country,” she said, referring to Myanmar by its former name.
“Because of that, I do not rule out the possibility of amendment through negotiated compromise,” Suu Kyi said on Friday at the East-West Centre in Hawaii.
Suu Kyi was visiting island state as part of an initiative by Hawaii to share its values. In a scene that would have been unthinkable just a few years ago, Suu Kyi spoke fondly about dining with friends on Honolulu’s sun-kissed Waikiki beach.
Suu Kyi has toured Europe and North America since her release from house arrest. US President Barack Obama paid a landmark visit to Myanmar in November, hoping to encouraging reforms.
Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse
More from Aung San Suu Kyi’s exclusive interview in Monday’s paper.