Myanmar conflict to create security issues in Bangladesh, India: Donald Lu
US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Donald Lu says that the Myanmar situation is not getting better, especially the way the clashes have been going on in the country.
He thought the Rohingya refugee crisis and the security problems it was creating for Bangladesh and “potentially for India” could get deeper in coming days.
Donald Lu said this at a seminar titled ‘The Indo-Pacific Strategy in Action: Commemorating the Second Anniversary’ organised marking the 2nd anniversary of Indo-Pacific Strategy (IPS) of the US.
Washington-based U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP) on 15 February organised the seminar that was telecast live on its website.
Vikram Singh, moderator and Senior Advisor, South Asia, U.S. Institute of Peace, asked the panellists that the countries from the region want to see the US as a partner from the context of security challenges, so does the clash in this region affect the investment and what could be the focal point of the clash?
Responding to this, Donald Lu said, “I spend a lot of time on Bangladesh, the Rohingya refugees who are there and the effects of instability in Burma and what it means for the region.”
He further stated that the US worked significantly with Bangladesh to support the generosity Dhaka has shown for over a million people who have been living in the country for years.
The countrywide clash between the opposition forces and the Myanmar army government’s forces has made the US worried, said Donald Lu.
The US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia said, “The situation in Burma is not getting better and what worries me is that the refugee crisis and the security problems it is creating for Bangladesh and potentially for India, could get deeper in coming days.”
“It is something we have to watch out for and enable our partners in the region, in this case Bangladesh and India, to cope with those stresses without it boiling over into instability in their countries as well,” Donald Lu added.
Mira Rapp-Hooper, Special Assistant to the US president and Senior Director for East Asia and Oceania, U.S. National Security Council; Ely Ratner, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs; and Camille Dawson, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs also spoke at the event.