Another catchy headline while I was cleaning my email struck me out. Just out of curiosity, I opened this article titled Is It Time to Invade Burma?
While the article mainly talks about how the government of Myanmar has been rejecting many foreign aid since the disaster struck out and therefore torturing their people by letting a humanitarian crisis continued, I found out that some parts of the article are interesting to comment on. Here it is.
….The trouble is that the Burmese haven’t shown the ability or willingness to deploy the kind of assets needed to deal with a calamity of this scale — and the longer Burma resists offers of help, the more likely it is that the disaster will devolve beyond anyone’s control……That’s why it’s time to consider a more serious option: invading Burma…..
Wow, hey, take it easy there! What is it with American people and their minds?? Now if we have an authoritarian regime in one country and they can just show up and attack the country? Even the UN Charter does not give the Security Council authority to use force for humanitarian purposes.
Without any permission from the legitimate government of a state, even humanitarian intervention violates the principle of non-intervention in the domestic affairs of a state. Armed intervention however justifiable in a strict interpretation only if the problem cannot likely to be contained, thus posing a threat to international peace and security.
….The Bush Administration has so far rejected the idea (of commencing a humanitarian intervention in Myanmar)— “I can’t imagine us going in without the permission of the Myanmar government,” Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Thursday….
Can’t imagine going in without the permission of Myanmar government? What a polite statement coming from a state who has been doing “intervention” all the time, huh? At least his point was well delivered…
….Retired General William Nash of the Council on Foreign Relations says the U.S. should first pressure China to use its influence over the junta to get them to open up and then supply support to the Thai and Indonesian militaries to carry out relief missions. “We can pay for it — we can provide repair parts to the Indonesians so they can get their Air Force up. We can lend the them two C-130s and let them paint the Indonesian flag on them,”….
Daa..?! Maybe if some ‘bule’ read this statement of Nash, he might think what a poor country we are! We even can’t get our own planes fixed! *is it because of the embargo? probably it is, right?* And then lend us planes and let us paint our flag on it? Don’t we have planes? I don’t know how the other people take this but I personally offended by the statement. I believe that his statement was delivered on a good intention, but maybe our government should also shows them that we have the capability to deliver a humanitarian relief for Myanmar.
Anyone would like to add some more comments on the article? Maybe suggest Indonesia to invade Myanmar?? :p
Haha, what an article. This is why I preferred Newsweek to Time I guess.
I don’t know what to say now. On one hand, I do agree with you, they don’t have legitimate basis for humanitarian intervention. On the other hand, this junta is playing with people’s life and I certainly don’t like it.
To reconsider your point of view, this might not be a good comparison, but didn’t they launch humanitarian intervention before in Balkan?
> What a polite statement coming from a state who has been doing “intervention” all the time, huh?
Oh yes, you said it, I actually laughed reading this obvious sarcasm
Anyway, I don’t know really much about Burma, all I know is they have rich and abundant resource that attracts investors from Korean, Japan, and China.
There is a big possibility that America also wants to get the cake, but perhaps, because Chinese already there, America must think twice before invading, I don’t believe about that humanitarian crap, Bush simply said they don’t want to save Burmese people because Burma does not serve American interest yet.
And that statement from Nash is mockery to Indonesia. I never dream Indonesia will invade any other country again since East Timor during Soeharto’s, and hope we never will. We don’t need interstate war when we already have too much intrastate war and problem with our domestic economy here. And I agree with you, it’s offending, but it’s understandable though, they are American.
@Yuki Tobing
Yes exactly. I believe that such scale of humanitarian crisis must be handled properly. Although we really can’t rely on the junta to do this task, but humanitarian intervention in Myanmar will certainly disrupt Asia’s political stability.
And yes, they did it in other parts of the world. Balkan, Bosnia, Sudan and also without a legitimate permission. But with Myanmar, it’s gonna be a whole different case. Too much is at stake.
China would surely rejects the idea of invading Myanmar, that is one thing, not to mention the possibility of hiking gas price in southeast asia *myanmar is one of the biggest gas supplier in the region*. And if there is gonna be an armed intervention, this might be a record-breaking event in Southeast Asia’s history. We haven’t experienced that kind of armed conflict since ASEAN took place.
Sure we can’t neglect the humanitarian side of the problem, but we might have another options to solve the crisis. Maybe plays the China card on Myanmar would work. It’s still too early to say ‘lets invade Myanmar’…
@Calvin
Hahaha!! Serving US interest, good point. I don’t know that statement of Bush, but if he really said it, how evil he is! Since when a humanitarian crisis needs to fulfill a requirements of serving others national interests??
well, i feel my comment here will be such a meaningless crap.
gua menyimak aja dehh.. huehehe..
This case, and some other similar ones, however, will raise the question on the importance of a state. “Do we have to have a state?”
Very nice posting. And fruitful discussion.
The truth is: it is true that our Air Force is crippled.It’s been widely reported in our national media.
Seeing it from the non-state side, i.e the people who are suffering, the call to put more pressure on the military junta to be more open to international humanitarian assistance is legitimate. No government will be able to handle the debilitating impact of the disaster caused by the cyclone alone.Governments, non-governmental actors,and international agencies must be allowed to go into the worst affected area in Burma to provide necessary relief for the survivors. I don’t think that ‘regime or state security’ must be placed higher than human security. It’s not about Bush, not about ASEAN, and surely not about the ignorant military junta that has been oppressing the Burmese for more than 30 years. It’s about the victims of the cyclone.
salam kenal
pjv
Interesting posting!
First of all, I do agree with Mas Phillips’ point that it’s not about the US or ASEAN but about the Burmese people. Some of my Burmese friends here are continually saddened, and hopeless for that matter, that the junta is not doing enough to the victims. Reports are even coming out that the aid given by donors have fallen into military hands only to be sold in the streets by soldiers and officers. Whatever the reason maybe, selling off emergency aid is simply horrendous! (can you imagine if the military junta starts implementing the ‘dual function’ doctrine of our military like what SBY once suggested?!)
Second, I myself do not believe in the concept of human security, at least in academic and conceptual terms. haha… well, but this is a whole other debate though…
Third, almost every aspect of our military is certainly in a sad state of affairs. but again, why and how this is the case, or how to fix it, is another whole other debate.
Fourth, whether a ‘humanitarian intervention’ should be contemplated, historically speaking, there were only few attempts in history where purely humanitarian interests drive a military operation. Some argue Kosovo is humanitarian, but the strategic consideration of maintaining NATO’s credibility came first. my favorite quote: “Everyone likes the idea of a peacekeeping (or humanitarian) operation, but no one wants to be in it”! hahaha…..
But all in all, I tend to see the fact that the Junta finally gave up and allowed ASEAN to enter and pour aid might be an initial step of the ‘politics of hope’ and crack open the regime (one could argue that this is modeled after the 2004 tsunami in Aceh that led to the eventual solution of the peace process).
cheers,
Evan
when i read this point:
“….Retired General William Nash of the Council on Foreign Relations says the U.S. should first pressure China to use its influence over the junta to get them to open up and then supply support to the Thai and Indonesian militaries to carry out relief missions. “We can pay for it — we can provide repair parts to the Indonesians so they can get their Air Force up. We can lend the them two C-130s and let them paint the Indonesian flag on them,”…. ”
i felt insulted, for a second. next thing on my mind, we really don’t have capitals to support those things anyway
————komen gak penting————
but i do agree on most points u’ve written here bek, no longer intellectual comment i can deliver,hahaha…
ps: humanitarian invasion can be a pretty good idea looking to the current condition of post-nargis condition lately….:p