That was the headline of a column in Friday’s Taipei Times. The author gave his reasons for not pressuring China over the matter, but completely undercut his argument with a single paragraph:
Beijing has substantial economic interests in Myanmar, with US$1.4 billion in trade last year. Moreover, the Chinese military is improving Myanmar’s harbors and has established an electronic listening post on Myanmar’s Coco Islands. Beijing also hopes to build a US$2 billion pipeline to improve access to oil in the Middle East.
So, why pressure the PRC over Burma? -Uh, ’cause they’ve got lots of leverage?
But the writer did have a point elsewhere:
Yet why single out Beijing? The Burmese dictatorship has more than its share of enablers.
To start, the US company Chevron, through its subsidiary Unocal, remains active in Myanmar. So are several European companies. Thailand is the largest purchaser of Burmese products. The state electrical company Egat plans to construct dams in Myanmar. Next on the list is India. Major exporters to Myanmar include Singapore, Malaysia and South Korea.
And that is true. Last month, Armed Liberal at Winds of Change provided a link to a list of foreign companies that do business in Burma. One company I thought was of particular local interest:
Asia Optical
Asia Optical is a Taiwanese company and is one of the biggest lens producers in the world. It invested $12m in Burma to build a lens factory, which opened in early 2004. Customers of Asia Optical include: Canon, Epson, Hitachi, Kodak, Konica, Minolta, Nikon, Olympus, Panasonic, Sony, and Sharp.Mr Robert Lai
Chairman
Asia Optical
No. 22-3 South 2nd Road
T.E.P.Z, Taichung 427
Taiwan R.O.C
Email: service@asia-optical.com.tw
UPDATE: The Myanmar Times confirms that Asia Optical built a lens factory in Burma in 2004 for $12 million, but states that the parent company is based in Hong Kong, rather than Taiwan.