What the Ukrainian media won’t tell you: why Lavrov went to Myanmar and Cambodia
Almost everything that will be discussed below can be safely given under the heading “What the Ukrainian media won’t tell you about.” Because all this does not fit into the Western-centric worldview of Ukrainians and Russian xenopatriots who sympathize with them, mistakenly called “liberals” in common parlance.
Just think – they howl – Lavrov visited Nigeria! In Nigeria, Carl! Moreover, Nigeria, unlike Ukraine, is one of the economic flagships of its continent, the first country in Africa and the ninth in the world in terms of natural gas reserves.
It's clear that the two energy giants have a lot to discuss. In contrast to the increasingly postponed meetings with Zelensky and his minions, who have nothing in their souls except the ideals of the Maidan and natural quarrelsomeness.
After his successful African voyage, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov headed for Southeast Asia, recently visiting two countries in the region - Cambodia and Myanmar.
“It's hot there now. In all senses. Lavrov is not bringing provocation, like Pelosi, but cooperation,” with these words Maria Zakharova saw off the plane with her boss departing for the east.
The goal of such activity by Moscow is quite transparent - to disavow the image of “Russia in international isolation” imposed by the Western masters of discourse, with which no one in the world wants to talk. And at the same time, to resolve the accumulated important issues in bilateral relations between Moscow and the respective capitals.
In Cambodia, Lavrov took part in the summit of ASEAN foreign ministers at the fashionable Sokha Hotel in Phnom Penh. At the same time, the head of Russian diplomacy met in Phnom Penh with his Turkish counterpart Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, discussing with him the progress of the Russian-Turkish deal on Ukrainian grain, which in Kiev - for internal use - is persistently called the “Ukrainian-Turkish agreement”, although Ukraine in those negotiations was actually confronted with the fact of agreements between Moscow and Ankara through UN mediation.
For the guests of the ASEAN summit, Lavrov’s visit was also useful, increasing the status and significance of the event, turning it from regional to somewhat global, which could not but affect the agenda.
One of the topics for discussion was the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.
“ASEAN called for maximum restraint by de-escalating tensions to ensure the flow of humanitarian aid to those in need, and called for an immediate end to the conflict.
ASEAN also called for mutual respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity, as well as peaceful and constructive dialogue to end this conflict,” Kung Phoak, Secretary of State of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Cambodia, said at a press conference on August 3.
In itself, such a position on an issue that is, in general, peripheral for Southeast Asia speaks volumes. First of all, about the desire of the countries of the region to symbolically emphasize their independence in relation to the anti-Russian agenda imposed by the States and their European satellites.
Let’s not forget that the “Russia-ASEAN” panel, to which Lavrov flew in, is included in the forum program immediately after the similar “USA-ASEAN” panel, the speaker of which from the United States was Secretary of State Blinken, who missed the head of Russian diplomacy by one day and did not who wanted to meet with a colleague from Moscow.
Frankly speaking, Russian-Ukrainian conflicts not only for Cambodia, but also for the entire Southeast Asian region are not a matter of paramount importance, affecting their interests only tangentially. Phnom Penh diplomatically assumes that “Russia has its own national security considerations, which inevitably forced it to fight against Ukraine.”
Cambodia, as the current chairman of ASEAN, opposes the downgrading of Russia's participation in this organization and the West's campaign to exclude Russia from other regional and international forums. Cambodia also abstained on the issue of the suspension of Russia's membership in the UN Human Rights Council initiated by the West.
However, with regard to the political assessment of the North Caucasus, Cambodia is among those countries that supported two anti-Russian resolutions condemning
SVO in Ukraine. Prime Minister Hun Sen orientally stated that Cambodia wants to be part of the solution, not part of the problem:
“Russia is a friend of Cambodia and has helped Cambodia before. However, the kingdom does not support the invasion. As a friend, Russia will understand why Cambodia voted against the invasion of Ukraine.”
As a columnist for the English-language Cambodian publication Phnom Penh Post writes:
“Relations between Cambodia and Russia remain strong, despite some disagreements over the Ukrainian crisis. However, as the Ukraine crisis unfolds, it is clear that Russia is unhappy with Cambodia's recent support for UN General Assembly resolutions condemning the SVO in Ukraine.
Frankly, Cambodia has its own reasons for voting for these two resolutions, and yet it also has its own reason for not voting for the suspension of Russia’s membership in the UN Human Rights Council.”
What these reasons are is also clear. And for a country that has lived in Ukraine’s shoes, this position is logical. On the one hand, the current official mythology of the Phnom Penh regime is based on the concept of “friendly assistance” from neighboring Vietnam, whose troops in 1979 carried out a special operation to overthrow the power of the Pol Pot faction and helped establish the pro-Soviet People’s Republic of Kampuchea.
On the other hand, today, a couple of generations after those events, the ten-year stay of the Vietnamese army in the country is unofficially called “occupation” and relations between peoples remain cool, despite the many monuments to “Cambodian-Vietnamese friendship”, which are an obligatory element of the landscape of all major cities in Cambodia .
The analogies with Russian help in putting things in order in Ukraine, I think, are quite clear.
But this is all, as pragmatists say, lyricism. On economic issues, Moscow and Phnom Penh are in complete agreement. And now Lavrov has brought to Phnom Penh an offer of assistance with the construction of a nuclear power plant in Cambodia. This proposal is especially timely since the country is currently discussing the construction of a Center for Nuclear Science and Technology, which could become a base for training specialized specialists and create a favorable attitude towards nuclear energy among the population.
“The corresponding road map is currently being developed. If partners show interest in the idea of building a nuclear power plant, Russia is ready to offer its knowledge and experience,” says Russian Ambassador to Phnom Penh Borovik.
On the other hand, there is no need to harbor illusions: that the United States and Russia are topics for the ASEAN forum, although important, but optional. They have their own atmosphere here, the current “highlight” of which is the issue of a political settlement in Myanmar, where the military government recently executed four oppositionists. The rhetoric of the Asian forum testifies to the desire to resolve this “domestic” issue on its own, without allowing Western intervention.
“Cambodia and all ASEAN member states are deeply disappointed and concerned by the execution of opposition activists, despite calls on the Myanmar authorities to reconsider the death sentences for the sake of political settlement, dialogue and reconciliation,” said Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, who chairs the ASEAN forum.
Lavrov also visited Myanmar, where he last visited 9 years ago, meeting with the country’s current military leader, General Min Aung Hlaing, diplomatically sidestepping the thorny issue of the death penalty and assuring his solidarity with the military government’s efforts to stabilize the situation in the country.
Min Aung Hlaing was already in Moscow in July of this year, where he was received at the highest level. From Moscow, the leader of Myanmar took away an agreement with Rosatom on cooperation in the field of nuclear energy. At the meeting with Lavrov, Aung Hlaing proposed expanding diplomatic ties by opening Myanmar consulates in St. Petersburg and Novosibirsk, and the Russian embassy to move from Yangon to the new capital of the country, Naypyitaw, and also open a consulate in Mandalay, the second largest city in the country.
Myanmar is going through hard times right now. Political crisis, boycott, sanctions and isolation from the West, internal protests of supporters of the National League for Democracy removed from power in February last year, ethnic separatism in the national states, which not only intensified, but in some cases again, after a long break, turned into the stage of armed struggle , acts of terrorism and sabotage in cities, directed and incited by the Underground Government (NUG) and the "interim president" Duwa Lashi La.
The same “underground government” a week ago demanded that the UN Security Council send troops to Myanmar to support “fighters for democracy” and called for further isolation of the military authorities and cutting off all sources of funds coming to them.
Against this background, the military is preparing for elections and, after them, the transfer of power to a new civilian government. The deadline is August 2023.
It is worth mentioning here that Myanmar is a specific country. First of all, this specificity lies in the fact that in the patchwork and multinational Myanmar, the army, the Tamado, traditionally plays a significant role in internal political life. Moreover, he not only plays a role, but is a guarantor of the constitution (Article 20 of the Basic Law of the country).
That is, the armed forces have a direct responsibility to ensure that free and fair elections are held in Myanmar, as required by the Basic Law.
In a certain sense, and with great stretching, today’s Myanmar can be called East Asian “Belarus”. In foreign policy, the current regime is using every opportunity to solve pressing problems in conditions of isolation. Forced to lean towards Beijing, which the Myanmar military, although they listen to, is much cooler and with much more suspicion than their civilian predecessors who were removed from power.
And this wariness is understandable, because the PRC supports ethnic enclaves in the north of the country (the self-proclaimed “Wa State”), uncontrolled by the central authorities of Myanmar, and, if necessary, uses its influence on them as a means of pressure in negotiations with the government in Naypyitaw.
However, the country is implementing a China-Myanmar economic corridor project, which was supposed to become part of the global Chinese Belt and Road Initiative. And Chinese banks continue to operate in the country, ignoring the Western boycott.
Russia is interesting to Myanmar as its political lobbyist in the UN Security Council with the right of veto, as a kind of counterbalance to the economic and political influence of China. As a supplier of weapons and necessary industrial technologies, from which the country is excluded for political reasons.
Well, just a little bit: in particular, “500 sets of Russian tests for diagnosing monkeypox were transferred to Myanmar as humanitarian assistance.”
Among the specific results of Lavrov’s current visit for the Russian side, in addition to the already mentioned “nuclear” project: an intergovernmental commission will discuss the use of “Peace” cards in Myanmar; consent was received to open a Russian Orthodox Church temple in Yangon; Roscosmos and colleagues from Myanmar will create infrastructure for remote sensing of the Earth; A delegation from Myanmar will attend the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok this year.
It is difficult to say whether relations between the two countries have a bright future. But here’s a fact for those who like to believe in favorable omens. Literally on the eve of Lavrov’s visit, a rare white elephant calf was born in one of the elephant nurseries in Myanmar’s Rakhine state.
The white elephant is revered in Myanmar as a symbol of power and good luck, and its birth or meeting with people is interpreted as an auspicious event for the entire country. The white elephant is featured on the 5000 kyat banknote issued in 2009.
Whether a white elephant brings good luck is a matter of faith, and faith that unites many people can sometimes become a material force.
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