When a nation collectively chooses the path of securitization and militarization, it inevitably incurs an opportunity cost in the development and productivity of the nation impeding for generations to come.

China, Thailand and Singapore remain Myanmar’s top trading partners of the past four fiscal years. Comparing Myanmar’s trading partners of the past four fiscal years from the 2018-19 fiscal year to 2021-22 mini-budget period, Malaysia rose to fourth while Japan declined to seventh. The 2020-21 fiscal year experienced an export volume of over USD 15.3 billion and an import volume of over USD 14.6 billion. This total trade volume declined by nearly USD 7 billion compared with the 2019-20 fiscal year.

Since the coup in February 2021, three new rail-road-sea cross-border trade routes connecting China and Myanmar have emerged. These three routes were not initially part of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), and they facilitate access by China’s western provinces to the Indian Ocean and neighboring countries in the region.