But as Blinken bemoaned the lack of progress in Myanmar, also known as Burma, he also moved to strengthen US ties with key regional ally Thailand – part of efforts to counter Chinese influence in the Indo-Pacific. Speaking at a press conference in Bangkok, Blinken said it was “unfortunate” that the crackdown in Myanmar continued almost 18 months after the army took over. And he said he was disappointed that Myanmar’s neighbors did not press for it to end. “I think it’s unfortunately safe to say that we haven’t seen any positive movement,” Blinken told reporters. “Instead, we continue to see the repression of the Burmese people who continue to see violence perpetrated by the regime.” He blamed Myanmar’s military leaders for imprisoning or forcing almost the entire opposition to flee, and for exacerbating the grim humanitarian situation by failing to provide the kind of aid and supplies needed to improve conditions. Blinken then took aim at Myanmar’s neighbors in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which has been trying to persuade the military to implement a five-point plan to return the country to a democratic path. “All countries must continue to speak clearly about what the regime is doing in its ongoing repression and brutality,” he said. “We have an obligation to the people of Burma to hold the regime accountable. Regional support for upholding the regime in the five-point plan developed by ASEAN is also critical. That has not happened.” He added that all ASEAN members “must hold the regime accountable for this, continue to demand an immediate end to violence, the release of political prisoners and the restoration of Burma’s democratic path.” Just last week, Myanmar hosted a regional gathering of officials in what the opposition said was a direct violation of the ASEAN peace plan following the ouster of civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Suu Kyi’s ouster in February 2021 sparked widespread peaceful protests that were violently suppressed and turned into armed resistance, and the country has slipped into what some UN experts call a civil war. Blinken traveled to Thailand after attending a meeting of foreign ministers of the Group of 20 rich and major developing countries in Indonesia, where he accused China of siding with Russia over the war in Ukraine and said the support was complicating already strained relations between Washington and Beijing. . After meeting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Bali on Saturday, Blinken warned that Chinese support for Russia in Ukraine poses a threat to the rules-based international order. Blinken’s visit to Thailand was intended to reinforce at least a small part of that order. In Bangkok, Blinken signed two cooperation agreements with its Thai counterpart, pledging to expand strategic cooperation with Thailand and improve the resilience of supply chains. Although modest, the deals are part of the administration’s broader Indo-Pacific strategy, which aims to temper China’s growing assertiveness and offer alternatives to Beijing-backed growth that many US officials see as a trap for smaller , poorer nations. Blinken did not mention China by name in his comments with Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha or Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai. But after the deals were signed, he said the US and Thailand “share the same goal of a free, open, interconnected prosperous, resilient and secure Indo-Pacific”. US officials often use the phrase to refer to preventing Chinese dominance in the region, and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin made similar comments when he visited Bangkok last month and met with Prayuth. Thailand is already a member of President Joe Biden’s Indo-Pacific Economic Forum, a bloc created earlier this year aimed at curbing the momentum of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, which has poured billions of dollars into development and infrastructure projects across the Asia and elsewhere. Like its predecessors, the Biden administration has warily watched China’s rapid growth and tried to hold it to international standards without significant success. The US and its like-minded democracies are trying to discourage developing countries in Southeast Asia and other countries from entering into large-scale infrastructure and development projects with China unless they are proven to be economically feasible, structurally sound and environmentally safe. “What we’re talking about is not asking countries to choose, but giving them a choice when it comes to things like investment and infrastructure, development aid, etc.,” Blinken said in Bali. “What we want to make sure is that we’re in a race to the top — that is, doing things to the highest standards — not a race to the bottom where we’re doing things to the lowest standards.” US officials from several governments have criticized China for taking advantage of smaller nations by luring them into unfair or deceptive deals. “My hope would be that if, as China continues to participate in all of these efforts, it engages in a race to the top, it raises its game,” Blinken said. “That would really benefit everyone.” Before returning to Washington, Blinken will travel Monday from Bangkok to Tokyo, where he will pay a brief condolence call to senior Japanese officials after the assassination Friday of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
