February 1 local time, U.S. President Biden issued an article condemning the detention of Myanmar’s Myanmar military leaders such as Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, threatened to resume sanctions against Myanmar, and called on the international community to respond in a unified manner and pressure the Myanmar military to hand over power.
But at a press conference held by the White House later that day, a reporter forcibly linked Biden’s position with China.
“The president just said in a statement that the U.S. will ‘pay attention to those who stand with Burmese in difficult times’, is that a message to China,” he asked.
White House press spokesman Psaki did not give a positive answer.
She simply said it was a message to all countries in the region that “will be asked to respond to the incident, or are considering how to respond appropriately.”
When asked if the U.S. government has plans to coordinate the Myanmar issue with China, Psaki continued to respond vaguely.
She said that the United States has “had intensive consultations at multiple levels” with allies and partners in the region and around the world, and that follow-up issues will be handled by the State Department.
In the early morning of February 1, Myanmar’s senior state government Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s President Wen Min and other officials were detained by the military.
The Myanmar military subsequently declared a state of emergency in the country, and the President has transferred power to Min Aung Lai, the commander-in-chief of the National Defense Forces. That night, the military announced a large-scale restructuring of the current government in Myanmar.
The United States issued three statements condemning the Myanmar military’s action three times after the incident.
On January 31, EDT, the White House issued a statement saying that the United States was “shocked” by the Myanmar military’s behavior and urged the military to release the officials detained today, otherwise the U.S. government would take action. U.S. Secretary of State Blincoln subsequently called on the Burmese military to “correct the behavior” and release all those detained.
On February 1st, U.S. President Biden issued another condemnation statement and “threaned” to impose new sanctions on Myanmar.
He said that the actions of the Myanmar military were “a direct attack on the country’s transition to democracy and the rule of law”, which also forced the U.S. government to “immediately review the sanctions laws and relevant institutions, and then take appropriate action”.
Biden also said: “We will work with partners in the region and the world to support the restoration of democracy and the rule of law (in Myanmar) and hold accountable those responsible for overthrowing Myanmar’s democratic transition.” He noted that the United States would “pay attention to those who stand with Burmese at this difficult time”.
From “shock” to “threat sanctions”, the United States has made successive statements to make stronger and harder words about the sudden political turmoil in Myanmar.
But so far, the United States has not publicly stated that Myanmar’s military behavior has been defined as a “military coup” like the leaders of the United Kingdom and the European Union.
According to the Foreign Aid Act of the United States, if a country has a “military coup” or any act of passing a decree “deposed of the elected head of government”, the United States must limit its assistance to that country.
Some people familiar with the matter had previously told the U.S. media that so far, the Biden administration has been in a state of “chaotic”, officials are “very dissatisfied” with the timing of action by the Myanmar military, and the United States and even the White House have different views on how to deal with the situation in Myanmar.
U.S. media also reported that the Biden administration is debating whether to call the situation in Myanmar a “coup” – if the situation in Myanmar is defined as a “coup” and aid to Myanmar is cut off, it may push Myanmar to China; if it ignores it, it will violate the commitment of the United States to “promote the democratization process of Myanmar”.
Regarding the situation in Myanmar, Wang Wenbin, spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, responded at a regular press conference on February 1 that China has noticed what happened in Myanmar and is further understanding the situation.
Wang Wenbin said that China is a friendly neighbor of Myanmar, and we hope that all parties in Myanmar can properly handle their differences and maintain political and social stability under the constitutional and legal framework.
The Chinese Embassy in Myanmar issued a statement on February 1, urgently reminding Chinese citizens and Chinese-funded institutions in Myanmar to pay close attention to the development of the situation, improve risk prevention awareness, strictly abide by local laws and regulations, and do not participate in any political activities.
At the same time, it is recommended that the necessary necessities of life be properly stored, stay at home as much as possible, and avoid crowd gatherings. Place.
