China media: opposition to hydropower dams in Myanmar is “extreme”
Opposition to Chinese-invested hydropower schemes in Myanmar is being orchestrated by “extreme” groups in the country and has been extremely damaging to joint investment projects, an influential Chinese newspaper wrote on September 19. The suspension in 2011 of the US$3.6 billion Myitsone mega dam project by former president Thein Sein remains a sore point between the two countries. Myanmar suspended the project citing environmental worries, but the decision was also seen as an attempt to distance itself from Beijing. Uncertainties arising from that controversy have held back other Chinese investment plans. Myanmar leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, whose party swept to power in the country’s first free national vote in 25 years last November, said on a visit to China last month that her new government was willing to look for a resolution that suits both countries.
