Myanmar: US-China embassies get into a war of words over South China Sea, Hong Kong

On July 19, China's embassy in Myanmar accused the United States of “outrageously smearing" the nation and “driving a wedge” in its relations with other Southeast Asian countries over the South China Sea and Hong Kong.

In an online war of words, the Chinese embassy lashed out at the United States and accused it of "selfish, hypocritical, contemptible" motives. The Chinese side also accused US agencies abroad of doing "disgusting things" to contain China's authority.  

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Earlier, the US embassy in Myanmar had accused China of compromising the sovereignty of the smaller island nations and flexing its military muscle in the resource-rich region of the South China Sea. The American side had further criticised China’s national security laws in Hong Kong and accused it of scheming larger patterns to "undermine the sovereignty of its neighbours".

“This is how modern sovereignty is often lost - not through dramatic, overt action, but through a cascade of smaller ones that lead to its slow erosion over time," the US embassy wrote in an official statement. 

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War of words

China responded to the statement by accusing the United States of trying to dismantle flourishing China-Myanmar relations. It added US comments were “another farce on a global tour" and aimed to "seek selfish political gains.”  

US statements were indicative of China’s dynamic grip on Myanmar. China’s humungous investment projects in Myanmar were accused by the US as a Chinese political strategy for fulfillment of its territorial ambitions in the resource-abundant nation. China has posed as Myanmar’s “only true friend” with an ambitious agenda to establish Chinese influence as Myanmar reaffirmed its support for “one China” that includes Taiwan. 

In a response to the verbal spat between the two superpowers, historian Thant Myint-U from Myanmar observed, in a news agency report, that the “sheer weight of China's giant industrial revolution" is already transforming Myanmar. He added that if multi-billion dollar infrastructure projects are considered, the border between China and Myanmar will become increasingly difficult to see.

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(With Inputs from AP)