China Mediates for the Rohingya Crisis

Why in news?

China’s is mediating between Bangladesh and Myanmar to resolve the Rohingya crisis.

What are the developments?

• A military operation by Myanmar in Rakhine, resulted in around 600,000 Rohingya fleeing the province to Bangladesh.
• This snowballed into a humanitarian crisis and a war of words between Dhaka and Naypyidaw.
• In this background that China stepped in with its three-point plan.
• Subsequently, an agreement was reached between Myanmar and Bangladesh to repatriate Rohingya refugees.
• If the agreement took effect successfully, China had promised economic assistance for the long-term development of Rakhine.

Why has China been pro-active?

• China has put pressure on Myanmar because a protracted conflict in Rakhine will be decidedly against Beijing’s economic interests.
• Rakhine is an important link in its Belt and Road Initiative and China is building a $7.3 billion deep-water port in the province.
• It has also invested $2.45 billion to build an oil and gas pipeline connecting coastal Rakhine to Yunnan province in Southern China.

What are the challenges?

• While the signing of a repatriation deal suggests some positives, the details of the agreement are very preliminary.
• The agreement had mandated an immediate ceasefire in Rakhine to halt further displacement which hasn’t been declared yet.
• Also, the number of Rohingya who will be sent back or the timeline for repatriation hasn’t been revealed.
• It is also not clear whether the refugees themselves want to go back to a place they had fled in such perilous circumstances.
• There is also no indication thus far, that a resettlement plan is taking shape.

What is the way forward?

• China sees the Rohingya crisis as an economic problem, given that it has been proposing a development centric solution.
• While economic assistance is essential, the real problem is arguably deeply political, and thereby needing a political solution.
• Unless Myanmar takes efforts to recognize Rohingya as full fledged citizens, any deal is doomed to fail.

Source: The Hindu