Learning to Share: Defence White Paper (2015)
Lao Zi
Yes, I know experts have written their commentaries on it, since it was published in December 2015.
You might therefore call this is an appreciation by a lay latecomer.
Going through its 99 pages, I realize that there is still room for me to learn—and unlearn.
First, this is what I’ve learned. It is that Tamadaw knows what we already know and what we don’t:
- The UN, despite its weaknesses, still stands as an irreplaceable international organization
- EU has been consistently pursuing the policy of avoiding confrontations, while Russia is vying for recurrence of her role and emergence of a new European security system
- China meanwhile has become more active, transparent and influential in its foreign relations
- Non aligned countries, at the same time, are now taking part in regional security affairs in the form of cooperative security system
- Some powerful states are interfering with internal affairs of smaller nations by using democratization, human rights and humanitarian grounds as pretexts
- Power rivals China and India’s attempts to dominate Asia- Pacific region are also quite obvious
To counter the new emerging trend, it says, Burma will be adhering to its “independent, active and non-aligned foreign policy” and the Five Principles of Peaceful Co-existence signed in 1954.
It is also to pursue a 6 point defense policy:
- Upholding of its Three Main National Causes: non-disintegration of the Union, non- disintegration of national solidarity and perpetuation of national sovereignty
- Formulation of People’s War Strategy (The constitution however speaks of People’s Militia Strategy. Are they the same?)
- Prevention of foreign aggression and interference
- Friendly relations with other nations
- Non-formation of and participation on military alliance with other nations
- Cooperation in nontraditional security issues and anti-terrorist matters
Altogether, both the assessments and the policies appear to make sense. Reminds me of what one late Shan leader used to say about superpowers: Of course, we can never become anyone’s followers. But we can be your friend and your younger brother.
Now we come to those which tell me it’s time some of the things I have learned are unlearned:
- The first thing is that the Republic of the Union of Myanmars, according to the paper, was founded, not in 1948 as we used to know, but “by the Bagan dynasty over a thousand years ago.”(Page 1)
- Another no less sweeping statement is that the Myanmar have been living in this land now called Myanmar since 40 million years ago in the Pon Taung Ponyar region in the country’s northwest. (Page 45)
It looks like we will need to invite a number of expert historians and archaeologists to the Union Peace Conference (or a separate academic conference) to settle these issues.
Until then, I’ll try to keep an open mind and a closed mouth.
Tags: Opinion
