China woos Myanmar hardliners

China woos Myanmar hardliners

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A powerful ethnic nationalist politician from Rakhine state, one of Myanmar's poorest and most volatile regions, said Chinese officials made him an irresistible offer during a recent visit to the country: Ask for anything, and we'll give it to you.

The fishing town of Kyaukpyu, racked by violence three years ago between ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and Muslim Rohingyas, is at the heart of China's drive for new resources and trade routes.

. Kyaukphyu, Myanmar. Reuters/Soe Zeya Tun

Beijing's courting of Aye Maung, chairman of the Arakan National Party, an organisation of ethnic Rakhine Buddhists that’s riding a tide of anti-Muslim sentiment, underscores how China is taking steps to protect its strategic investments in Myanmar ahead of an unpredictable election there in November.

New oil and gas pipelines from Kyaukpyu connect China's southwestern province of Yunnan directly with the Indian Ocean, bypassing the narrow Malacca Strait, where a strong U.S. naval presence has long worried Chinese policymakers.

. Kyaukphyu, Myanmar. Reuters/Soe Zeya Tun
A crude oil tower is seen on the seashore in Kyaukpyu township.

Chinese investments in Kyaukpyu could amount to nearly $100 billion if all the current plans, including a special economic zone, materialise over the next two decades, according to C. Raja Mohan at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Rakhine could certainly use the assistance - the state has a poverty rate of 78 percent, according to a 2014 World Bank report. Residents in Kyaukpyu say the oil and gas pipelines built so far have not given them any jobs.

"With the gas project, everyone thought that when they came, they would hire our workers," said Tun Tun Naing, a 36-year-old local activist. "But when they arrived, even their cooks were Chinese."

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Slideshow

Workers walk on a road, with China's oil pipeline project seen in the background.
. Kyaukphyu, Myanmar. Reuters/Soe Zeya Tun

Workers walk on a road, with China's oil pipeline project seen in the background.

Oil tanks are seen at China's oil pipeline project.
. Kyaukphyu, Myanmar. Reuters/Soe Zeya Tun

Oil tanks are seen at China's oil pipeline project.

A boy plays in front of a clinic that was donated by China's oil pipeline project.
. Kyaukphyu, Myanmar. Reuters/Soe Zeya Tun

A boy plays in front of a clinic that was donated by China's oil pipeline project.

Men carry a machine as a man walks behind them with a container of crude oil at Yaynan Taung (Oil Mountain).
. Kyaukphyu, Myanmar. Reuters/Soe Zeya Tun

Men carry a machine as a man walks behind them with a container of crude oil at Yaynan Taung (Oil Mountain).

Local residents' houses are seen in front of the pink-roofed buildings of the Chinese oil pipeline project.
. Kyaukphyu, Myanmar. Reuters/Soe Zeya Tun

Local residents' houses are seen in front of the pink-roofed buildings of the Chinese oil pipeline project.

A young man removes debris, including a coconut, from his fishing net.
. Kyaukphyu, Myanmar. Reuters/Soe Zeya Tun

A young man removes debris, including a coconut, from his fishing net.

A woman feeds her pigs.
. Kyaukphyu, Myanmar. Reuters/Soe Zeya Tun

A woman feeds her pigs.

A man shows birds that he shot for food.
. Kyaukphyu, Myanmar. Reuters/Soe Zeya Tun

A man shows birds that he shot for food.

A woman chops firewood.
. Kyaukphyu, Myanmar. Reuters/Soe Zeya Tun

A woman chops firewood.

Men play cards after working to extract crude oil by hand at Yaynan Taung (Oil Mountain).
. Kyaukphyu, Myanmar. Reuters/Soe Zeya Tun

Men play cards after working to extract crude oil by hand at Yaynan Taung (Oil Mountain).