US Pacific Command Issues Damning Report on Burma

Wai Moe
The Irrawaddy News
www.irrawaddy.org
January 22, 2008

Burma’s economy is in shambles and the future is bleak, according to a report by the US Armed Forces’ Pacific Command, based in Hawaii. The military junta’s oppression and mismanagement has broken what was once a prosperous nation with a wealth of natural resources and a lot of potential for growth, says the report, Asia-Pacific Economic Update 2007.

The report, published annually, says the Burmese people are caught in a quagmire between the idealistic zeal of Western governments and the military junta’s subjugation. It maintains that the military regime is not really affected by western sanctions, especially when neighboring countries such as China, Russia, Thailand, Singapore and India continue to engage and trade with Burma.

“Burma’s richness in natural resources and its strategically significant geographic location at the mouth of the Straits of Malacca (a vital waterway for global seaborne trade) are irresistible to these emerging economic giants,” the report says.

It suggests that Western nations should adopt a different tactic to influence the military junta to make progress towards democracy and national reconciliation. Noting that the regime’s “roadmap” towards democracy has arrived at a dead-end, the report says a change in strategy and approach is now needed to break the current stagnation. A solution may be difficult to cultivate, however, the report adds.

“Dramatic changes [in Burma] are unlikely, due to continued support from major regional powers such as India, Russia, and China in particular,” it says.

On Burma’s economy, the report says the country’s export revenue remains buoyant because of the oil and gas sectors, the only areas of significant economic growth.

Exports of natural gas to Thailand support Burma’s sales in the energy industry, while a strong demand for Burma’s mining, energy, agriculture and forestry products comes from China and India, the report notes.

Burma’s main sources of imports in 2005 were China (29.3 percent), Thailand (22.2 percent), Singapore (18.7 percent) and Australia (1 percent). Foreign investment comes primarily from China, Singapore, South Korea, India and Thailand. India is the major market for Burma’s pulses.

The report puts Burma’s estimated gross domestic product at 2.9 percent, lower than any other country in the Great Mekong sub-region. The Burmese are falling further behind as the forces of globalization speed forward in the rest of the region, the report says—pointing out that Burma is one of the world’s poorest nations, suffering from decades of stagnation, mismanagement and isolation.

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Burma averaged US $217.1 million annually in the years 2000-2004, aside from gas and oil. Few sectors are now attracting any fresh FDI approvals, and the FDI dropped to $35.7 million in the first 11 months of the financial year 2005-2006.

According to the report, Burma produced only 1,775 megawatts of power for its 53 million people in 2006, compared to 26,000 megawatts for 63 million people in neighboring Thailand. As a result, the people of Burma suffer chronic power shortages.

Lack of investment in education and the repeated closure of universities in recent years have reduced the number of skilled workers. Political repression and a stagnating economy have driven a huge number of nationals overseas in search of work, added the report.

Burma’s education is hit by lack of funding; the regime spent only 1.3 percent of its 2002 budget in that sector. In 2005, only about 40 percent of all children were enrolled in secondary schools, compared with an average of 71 percent for East Asia and the Pacific.

The junta devotes only 0.1 percent of its annual budget to public health. Most Burmese have no access to basic health care and life expectancy was 60.8 years in 2004, compared with 70.3 years in East Asia and the Pacific. Migrant workers, human trafficking, and refugees play a role in exporting and spreading diseases to neighboring countries, according to the report.

The full report is available on the Web site http://www.asia-studies.com/