(Mong Ton/Mai Dong) Dam, Myanmar M.A
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Master’s Thesis: Chinese Investments and Conflicts Resolution—A Case Study of Tasang (Mong Ton/Mai Dong) Dam, Myanmar M.A. Peace and Development Work Author: Yongli Ku Tutor: Heiko Fritz 08/26/2016 Table of Contents Acknowledgement ......................................................................................................... 2 Abstract .......................................................................................................................... 3 List of Abbreviations...................................................................................................... 4 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................ 5 1.1 Background and Justification ........................................................................... 5 1.2 Literature Review............................................................................................. 9 1.3 Research Objectives ....................................................................................... 10 1.4 Research Questions ........................................................................................ 10 1.5 Methodology .................................................................................................. 11 1.6 Research Plan ................................................................................................. 12 2. Analytical Framework ......................................................................................... 13 2.1 Overview ........................................................................................................ 13 2.2 Limited Access Orders ................................................................................... 19 3. Methods................................................................................................................ 21 4. Background .......................................................................................................... 24 4.1 Myanmar ........................................................................................................ 26 4.2 The Conflicts .................................................................................................. 27 4.3 Tasang (Mong Ton/Mai Dong) Dam .............................................................. 31 5. Findings................................................................................................................ 33 5.1 The 2008 Constitution .................................................................................... 35 5.2 Shans, Burmans and Chinese ......................................................................... 38 5.2.1 Peace Process: Ceasefire Agreements and Negotiations .................... 41 5.2.1.1 The Master Plan for the Development of Border Areas and National Races ..................................................................................... 42 5.2.1.2 Ministry of Border Affairs ....................................................... 43 5.2.1.3 National Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) ..................................... 45 5.2.1.4 SSA-S/RCSS ............................................................................ 46 5.2.1.5 China’s Involvement ................................................................ 48 5.2.2 The Project: Tasang (Mong Ton/Mai Dong) Dam .............................. 50 5.2.2.1 Opposition of the Project ......................................................... 51 5.2.2.2 The Contract ............................................................................. 53 5.2.2.3 The First Scoping Meeting ....................................................... 53 6. Analysis................................................................................................................ 57 7. Conclusion ........................................................................................................... 60 8. Appendix .............................................................................................................. 63 9. References ............................................................................................................ 67 1 Acknowledgement I would like to thank all my classmates in the Peace and Development Work Programme who I have learned so much from. Your experience, your company, your compassion, your knowledge and your kindness have taught and inspired me a lot. Heiko Fritz, my knowledgeable and humorous tutor, thank you very much for being such a great guide in my thesis research. I benefit a lot from your guidance and really enjoy working and discussing with you. Mostly I would like to thank you for writing me back on holiday! Thank you all, the best, the most creative and the most encouraging faculty of the Peace and Development Work Programme: Manuela, Jonas, Heiko, Chris and Gunnila. You are so full of positive energy and knowledge. Most of all, you demonstrate to me how to be a critical and respectful scholar. You bring hopes to my imagination of the world peace. Thank you for introducing me into the peace and development research field which I do not plan to leave any time soon. Thank you so very much! I would also like to thank the staff at LNU, at the information desk, international office, the library, the administration office, the Student Union and the Friend Family program. Thank you for the great assistance, efficiency, patience and flexibility. You made my time at LNU extra better! Thank you Professor Steve On at my home university, NSYSU, for always encouraging me and constantly providing all the support you can for me in my research. I will always remember: Health and family are always number one. All the great scholars, activists, researchers and organizations that have done so much excellent research and devoted in making the world a better place, I cannot be grateful enough for your work which makes this thesis possible. Sydney Nichols, thank you for being a great editor, critical commenter and a loyal friend. Last but not least, I would like to thank my families and friends in Taiwan, in Sweden, and all around the world for being so supportive, loving, caring and understanding. Thank you for being you and existing in my life. I wouldn’t be the person I am if not for you all. Much love. Peace. 2 Abstract The aim of this research is to bridge the correlation of peace and foreign investments through the lens of North et al.’s (2013) Limited Access Orders (LAOs). The research seeks to engage in the discussion of LAOs by providing a perspective from analyzing Chinese investments under the context of New Silk Road policy with the case of Tasang Dam. Current discussion of LAOs does not involve how foreign investments affect institutional transition in LAOs. Therefore this research is a humble attempt to engage in the existing literature from a different perspective. Tasang Dam is designed to be built in southern Shan State, Myanmar, an area that has encountered continuous armed conflicts. The conflicts between the local armed group SSA-S/RCSS and the Tatmadaw continue even after a ceasefire agreement was signed in 2011. Chinese investors acting under the context of New Silk Road project have tried to involve in creating stability in the area to reduce costs. According to the LAOs logic, if the access to rents is open to armed organizations, there will be motivations for rival parties to avoid violence. In order to redistribute the resources, there should be an institutional transition. In Tasang Dam’s case, the rents created by Chinese investments are not available to SSA-S/RCSS, but with the Chinese investments as the democratization of Myanmar goes on, there are opportunities to alter the story of repeated violence. Keywords: Chinese investments, conflicts, New Silk Road, Tasang (Mong Ton/Mai Dong) Dam, Limited Access Orders, peace process, institutional transition. 3 List of Abbreviations BGF Border Guard Force BSPP Burmese Socialist Program Party CPB Communist Party of Burma CJRC Constitution Joint Review Committee EAO Ethnic armed organization EIA Environmental impact assessment FDI Foreign direct investment GAD General Administrative Department IGO International governmental organization KIO/A Kachin Independence Organization/Army KMT Kuomintang LAO Limited Access Order MBA Ministry of Border Affairs MNC Multi-National Corporation MTA Mon Tai Army NCA National Ceasefire Agreement NCCT National Ceasefire Coordination Team NDF National Democratic Front NGO Non-governmental organization NLD National League of Democracy PSLF/TNLA Palaung State Liberation Front/Ta’ang National Liberation Army SIA Social impact assessment SLORC State Law and Order Restoration Council SMEC Snowy Mountains Engineering Corporation SNLD Shan Nationalities League for Democracy SPDC State Peace and Development Council SSA-S/RCSS Shan State Army- South/Restoration Council of Shan State USDP Union Solidarity and Development Party UPWC Union Peace-making Work Committee UWSA United Wa State Army 4 1. Introduction The research seeks to use the framework of Limited Access Orders (LAOs) to explain how Chinese investments under the context ‘New Silk Road’ (or ‘One Belt, One Road’) affect the peace process in Myanmar1 by looking at the Tasang Dam (later known as Mong Ton/Mai Dong Dam)2 project in southern Shan State jointly funded by China Three Gorges Corporation and Thailand’s EGAT International Co., Ltd.. 1.1 Background and Justification Myanmar plays an important role in China’s geopolitical strategy (Li et al.