chellaney78_STR_AFP_Getty Images_dam protest STR/AFP/Getty Images

China’s Dam Problem With Myanmar

Myanmar's suspension of the $3.6-billion Myitsone Dam project in 2011 was a slap in the face to China – not least because the move helped kick-start Myanmar's transition to democracy. But China has not given up, and is now pressuring Myanmar's ten-month-old elected government to resume construction.

BERLIN – China is a big fan of dams. Indeed, over the last 50 years, the country has constructed more dams than all other countries combined. But there is one dam that China never managed to get built: the Myitsone Dam in Myanmar. And Chinese leaders can’t seem to let it go.

The Myitsone Dam was to stand at the headwaters of the Irrawaddy River, Myanmar’s lifeline. It was designed as a hydroelectric power project, which would generate energy for export to China, at a time when Myanmar’s economy depended on its giant neighbor. Ruled by a brutal military junta, Myanmar faced crippling United States-led sanctions and broad international isolation.

Where others saw human-rights violations, China saw an opportunity to advance its own strategic and resource interests. When the Myitsone Dam project was introduced, China was also establishing a foothold in Myanmar’s Kyaukpyu port on the Bay of Bengal, from which it would build energy pipelines to southern China.

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