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Concept
Foreign relations of Myanmar
Summary
Historically strained, Myanmar's foreign relations, particularly with Western nations, have improved since 2012. Relations became strained once more in 2017 with the Rohingya crisis. Myanmar (also known as Burma) has generally maintained warmer relations with near states and is a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
The United States has placed broad sanctions on Myanmar because of the military crackdown in 1988 and the military regime's refusal to honour the election results of the 1990 People's Assembly election. Similarly, the European Union has placed embargoes on Myanmar, including an arms embargo, cessation of trade preferences, and suspension of all aid with the exception of humanitarian aid.
US and European government sanctions against the military government, alongside boycotts and other types of direct pressure on corporations by western supporters of the Burmese democracy movement, have resulted in the withdrawal from Myanmar of most US and many European companies. However, several Western companies remain due to loopholes in the sanctions. Asian corporations have generally remained willing to continue investing in Myanmar and to initiate new investments, particularly in natural resource extraction.
The French oil company TotalEnergies is able to operate the Yadana natural gas pipeline from Myanmar to Thailand despite the European Union's sanctions on Myanmar. TotalEnergies is currently the subject of a lawsuit in French and Belgian courts for the condoning and use of Burman civilian slavery to construct the named pipeline. Experts say that the human rights abuses along the gas pipeline are the direct responsibility of TotalEnergies and its American partner Chevron Corporation with aid and implementation by the Tatmadaw. Prior to its acquisition by Chevron, Unocal settled a similar human rights lawsuit for a reported multimillion-dollar amount. There remains active debate as to the extent to which the American-led sanctions have had adverse effects on the civilian population or on the military rulers.
Official source
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