Is Myanmar a strategic pawn or an economic pivot of China?

Abstract

The arguement from the proponents whether Myanmar is a strategic pawn or an economic pivot is predicated on Myanmar's geo-strategic position, as Rangoon is sharing common borders with its two giant neighbors, China and India. The logic of this reasoning is that Myanmar is sandwiched between India on the Northwest and China on the Northeast and therefore as a weak power and potential unstable Union plugged by internal ethnic and political conflict, Rangoon is and will inevitably succumb to external pressure, lose its independence and sovereignity. Indeeed, one observer has argued that even if Myanmar is successfully wedged between the Sino-Indian strategic rivalries Rangoon still cannot escape the reality that it has become part of China's sphere of influence, as a result of its entente with china from 1989 onwards.