China and India’s Comparative Response to the 2017 Rohingya Crisis in Bangladesh
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47540/ijias.v1i2.216Keywords:
Geostrategic Power, Global Power, Rohingya CrisisAbstract
The simultaneous rise of China and India has been creating significant re-orientation in the contemporary international system. Both the countries are trying to climb up in the global power hierarchy but for the first instance, they are competing with each other for the Pan-Asian leadership. As a result, their neighboring countries like Bangladesh and Myanmar are becoming hot spots for geostrategic power play between the two Asian powers. The Sino-Indian geostrategic competition intensified after 25 August 2017 when the military crackdown happened at the Rakhine state on Rohingya people. This paper illustrates the nature and dimensions of the response from New Delhi and Beijing on the 2017 Rohingya Refugee crisis. This paper adopted a qualitative method and data was analyzed based on secondary data. The findings argue that there was a qualitative difference between the responses from India and China in this crisis. India claimed to remain neutral in the crisis and provided limited humanitarian and economic assistance to Bangladesh and Myanmar. This paper also reviews why China and India back Myanmar and the international response to this crisis. Finally, this paper concludes with Bangladesh’s challenges from the Sino-Indian geostrategic interests in the Rakhine state.
References
Bhaumik, S. (2017). Why do China, India back Myanmar over the Rohingya crisis?. Retrieved from http://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/2115839/why-do-china-india-back-myanmar-over-rohingya-crisis last consulted 22 February 2018.
Blanchard, J.-M.F., (2018). China’s Maritime Silk Road Initiative (MSRI) and Southeast Asia: A Chinese ‘pond’ not ‘lake’ in the Works. Journal of Contemporary China, 27(111), 329–343.
Chakravertty, A. (2019). Chinese govt to play mediator in sending back Rohingyas refugees from Bangladesh to Myanmar. The Economic Times. Retrieved from https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/world-news/chinese-govt-to-play-mediator-in-sending-back-rohingyas-refugees-from-bangladesh-to-myanmar/articleshow/68788655.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst
Charltons Myanmar. (2015). Uk Trade and Investment Publishes Opportunities for British Oil and Gas Companies in Myanmar. Retrieved from https://www.charltonsmyanmar.com/uk-trade-investment-publishes-opportunities-british-oil-gas-companies-myanmar/
Cheesman, N. (2017). How in Myanmar “National Races” Came to Surpass Citizenship and Exclude Rohingya. Journal of Contemporary Asia, 47(3), 461-483.
Chen, X. (2018). Globalisation Redux: Can China’s Inside-Out Strategy Catalyse Economic Development Across Its Asian Borderlands and Beyond. Cambridge Journal of Regions Economy and Society, 11(1), 35-58.
Chenyang, L. (2010). The policies of China and India toward Myanmar (preprint). Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/283626428_The_policies_of_China_and_India_toward_Myanmar
Choudhury, A. (2019). Moral ambiguity on the Rohingya. The Hindu. Retrieved from https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/moral-ambiguity-on-the-rohingya/article27189539.ece
Cumming-Bruce, N. (2018). Human Rights Council Ratchets Up Pressure on Myanmar. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/27/world/asia/myanmar-un-human-rights.html
Fair, C.C. (2018) Rohingya: Victims of a Great Game East.The Washington Quarterly, 41(3), 63–85.
Frankel, J. A. (2010) The Natural Resource Curse: A Survey, HKS Faculty Research Working Paper Series, RWP10-005, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. Retrieved from https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w15836/w15836.pdf
Funaiole, M. P., & Hillman, J. E. (2018). China’s Maritime Silk Road Initiative Economic Drivers and Challenges. Center for Strategic and International Studies. Retrieved from https://www.csis.org/analysis/chinas-maritime-silk-road-initiative-economic-drivers-and-challenges
Goa, C. (2017). On Rohingya Issue, Both China and India Back Myanmar Government. The Diplomat. Retrieved from https://thediplomat.com/2017/09/on-rohingya-issue-both-china-and-india-back-myanmar-government/
Goldberg, M. L. (2019). Why the Gambia is Suing Myanmar for the Rohingya Genocide. UN Dispatch. Retrieved from https://www.undispatch.com/why-the-gambia-is-suing-myanmar-for-genocide-of-the- rohingya/.
Human Rights Council. (2018). Report of the independent international fact-finding mission on Myanmar. Retrieved from https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/HRBodies/HRCouncil/FFM-Myanmar/A_HRC_39_64.pdf
Ibrahim, A. (2016). The Rohingyas: Inside Myanmar’s Hidden Genocide (1st ed.). New York: Hurst & Company.
Inter Sector Coordination Group (ISCG). (2020). 2020 Mid-Term Review Rohingya Humanitarian Crisis. Retrieved from https://www.humanitarianresponse.info/sites/www.humanitarianresponse.info/files/documents/files/2020_jrp_mtr_final.pdf
Kristian Stokke, K., Vakulchuk, R., &Øverlan, I. (2018). Myanmar: A Political economy Analysis. Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Retrieved from https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Myanmar_-_A_Political_Economy_Analysis_-_Norwegian_Institute_of_International_Affairs_2018.pdf
Lee, Y., & Aung, T.T. (2017) China to take 70 percent stake in strategic port in Myanmar – official. Reuters. Retrieved from https://jp.reuters.com/article/instant-article/idUSL4N1MS3UB
Lintner, B. (2020). Myanmar a perfect fit on China’s Belt and Road. Asia Times. Retrieved from https://asiatimes.com/2020/01/myanmar-a-perfect-fit-on-chinas-belt-and-road/
Mahtani. S. (2016). China Moves to Revive Its Sway in Myanmar. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved from https://www.wsj.com/articles/china-moves-to-revive-its-sway-in-myanmar-1456697644
Mithun, M.B. (2018). Ethnic conflict and violence in Myanmar: the exodus of stateless Rohingya people. International Journal on Minority and Group Rights, 25(4), 647-663.
Mohan, R. (2017). Freedom from Fear?: As India decides whether or not to expel its Rohingya community, thousands of lives hang in the balance. World Policy Journal, 34(4), 101-110.
Myanmar Information Management Unit (MIMU). (2015). State Map District Rakhine. Retrieved from https://themimu.info/states_regions/rakhine
Myanmar Investment Commission. (2019). Rakhine State Investment Opportunities Survey. Retrieved from https://www.dica.gov.mm/sites/dica.gov.mm/files/news-files/report_on_rsios_for_printing_20190215_english.pdf
Natural Resource Governance Institute. (2015). The Resource Curse: The Political and Economic Challenges of Natural Resource Wealth. Retrieved from https://resourcegovernance.org/sites/default/files/NRGI_Readers_Compilation.pdf
Palit, A. (2016). India's Act East Policy and Implications for Southeast Asia. Southeast Asian Affairs, 81–91.
Pieter, D. et al. (2019). Trends in International Arms Transfers, 2018 SIPRI Fact Sheet March 2019. Retrieved from https://www.sipri.org/sites/default/files/2020-03/fs_2003_at_2019.pdf
Poling, G. B. (2018). Kyaukpyu Connecting China to the Indian Ocean. Center for Strategic and International Studies. Retrieved from https://www.csis.org/analysis/kyaukpyu-connecting-china-indian-ocean
Routray, B. P. (2018). Analysis: Myanmar versus the Rohingya: The China Factor. Mantraya Analysis 29. Retrieved from https://mantraya.org/analysis-myanmar-versus-the-rohingya-the-china-factor/
Sajjanhar, A. (2016) Taking Stock of India's' ‘Act East Policy', ORF Issue Brief. Retrieved from https://www.orfonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/ORF_Issue_Brief_142_A_Sajjanhar.pdf
Selth, A. (2018). Myanmar’s Armed Forces and The Rohingya Crisis’. United Institutes of Peace. Retrieved from https://www.usip.org/sites/default/files/2018-08/pw140-myanmars-armed-forces-and-the-rohingya-crisis.pdf
Sen, A. (2017). Is India contributing to the Rohingya catastrophe?. Al Jazeera. Retrieved from https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2017/10/2/is-india-contributing-to-the-rohingya-catastrophe
Stokke, K., Vakulchuk, R., &Øverland, I. (2018). Myanmar: A Political economy Analysis’, Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Retrieved from https://reliefweb.int/report/myanmar/myanmar-political-economy-analysis
Taufiq, H.A. (2019) China, India, and Myanmar: Playing Rohingya Roulette?. In: Hussain I. (eds) South Asia in Global Power Rivalry. Global Political Transitions. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore.
The Daily Star. (2019, November 19). Gain China, India’s support over Rohingya return. Retrieved from https://www.thedailystar.net/backpage/news/gain-china-indias-support-over-rohingya-return-1828960
United Nations. (2017). UN human rights chief points to ‘textbook example of ethnic cleansing’ in Myanmar. UN News. Retrieved from https://news.un.org/en/story/2017/09/564622-un-human-rights-chief-points-textbook-example-ethnic-cleansing-myanmar
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
Copyright (c) 2021 Maisaa Mehzabin, MD. Kawser Rahim Shuvo
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.