In an interview with U.S. ambassador to Thailand Ralph Boyce, the Ambassador suggested the United States was more interested in distancing itself from Burma and that China was doing a good job as a major influence.
"What I think is that our policy is important for the people who are struggling inside Burma. We don't follow policy necessarily to try to impact the generals; they are fairly impervious--impermeable even-- to outside pressure, for good or bad, it seems."Even some of the countries that people call 'enablers' or their 'closest protectors' or whatever--it's unclear, at the end of the day, just how much influence even they can have."
This is nonsense of course, it is he is talking about China and Russia and it is very clear how much influence that have. He also contradicts himself saying
He admitted that the Chinese were more influential in the region; however, he welcomed the strides China had taken."I think that Chinese diplomacy is very active in the region, as it should be," he said. "Some people call it the emergence of China; it's really the re-emergence of China. It's a more natural state of things."
When asked about the meetings between U.S. and Burma officials in Beijing
"We engaged in Beijing--meetings that the Chinese brokered between the [Burmese] regime and ourselves; and as long as those discussions can produce something substantive as opposed to just 'talk'--talking past each other--then I think we're always ready to engage."
But that can hardly be the case when the rest of this interveiw is just diplomatic speak for: 'we are not interested in getting involved at this time or striking any new level of involvement'.
