As Myanmar collapses, it’s time for China to step up and be the hero

As Myanmar collapses, it’s time for China to step up and be the hero The Burmese people continue to suffer as the brutal civil war in Myanmar heads toward its sixth year. The conflict was recently brought home to America with China’s arrest (asia.nikkei.com) of Min Zin, an American citizen who heads the Institute for Strategy and Policy (ISP)–Myanmar, located in Thailand. Beijing accused him of spying. China has increasingly close relations with the government in Naypyidaw, highlighted by the June visit to Beijing of Min Aung Hlaing, the commanding general who recently anointed himself Myanmar’s president. China helps Hlaing’s regime survive despite widespread popular opposition.For decades the borderlands of Myanmar have been aflame, as ethnic minorities fought for the autonomy promised them when the country gained independence after World War II. The Tatmadaw, or military, seized power in 1962 and has ruled the country in varying iterations ever since. In 2021, Hlaing, disappointed by the hybrid civilian-led government’s refusal to make him president, staged a coup, ending Burma’s brief experiment in limited democratic governance. In response to widespread protests, the regime (cfr.org › rohingya crisis myanmar) "instituted curfews and other limitations on gatherings to curb the demonstrations. Doubling down, the military launched violent campaigns across the country, targeting resistance villages, and silencing and torturing dissenters, displacing thousands in the process,” according to the Council on Foreign Relations. The junta detained tens of thousands of its citizens as the nation quickly returned to civil war, this time across almost the entire country. Most of Burma now lies beyond the Tatmadaw’s control; the regime is secure only in major cities.The result is a humanitarian horror. Reports the (nytimes.com › myanmar civil war rebels airstrikes) New York Times: “Far from the spotlight fixed on Iran, Ukraine, Lebanon and other global conflicts, Myanmar, a Southeast Asian nation of about 50 million people, has quietly collapsed.” Tens of thousands have died. Hundreds of thousands have fled the country. Millions have been uprooted. Reports the (civil-protection-humanitarian-aid.ec.europa.eu › myanmarburma en) European Commission: “Mass displacement continues at an alarming rate, with some 3.6 million people displaced as of December 2025, about 90% of whom have been displaced since February 2021.”The conflict is religious as well. Nearly a decade ago, the military, backed by the civilian authorities, launched a (unrefugees.org › rohingya refugee crisis explained) brutal campaign against the largely Muslim Rohingya. As the United Nations’ refugee agency explained (unrefugees.org › rohingya refugee crisis explained), “armed attacks, massive scale violence, and serious human rights violations forced thousands of Rohingya to flee their homes in Myanmar’s Rakhine State. Many walked for days through jungles and undertook dangerous sea journeys across the Bay of Bengal to reach safety in Bangladesh,” where roughly a million remain.Many of the ethnic insurgents — especially the Kachin, Chin, and Karen, as well as smaller shares of the Lahu, Lisu, and Naga — are Christian. Against them the Tatmadaw has promoted Buddhism. Reported the (bcfausa.org) Baltimore Council on Foreign Affairs: “Stated-owned newspapers and television channels report daily about Senior General Min Aung Hlaing and his inner circle making donations to monks, or building monasteries and images of the Buddha.” The regime has demonized religious minorities. According to (berkleycenter.georgetown.edu › the four