Summary of Burma’s Situation, General Outline, Basic Narrative of Issues between China and Burma, Record of Major Events in China-Burma Relations

[Re:] Ne Win: “Despite the military junta’s enormous assistance in resolving China-Burma border issues and ushering in friendship between the two countries prior to their ascent to government, creating a high tide in China-Burma relations, now the militarists are in a distinctly different position. Their international relations contain complicated conflicts. In consideration for the military junta’s political position, problems of anti-Chinese revisionism and Chinese expatriate issues, they may harbor noteworthy levels of suspicion toward us.”

[Re:] Burma: “The movement of ethnic minorities against the uniformed guard has a significant impact on those within our borders. They often come to us for aid and urge our border residents to join forces with them. Moreover, many of our border residents sympathize with them. There are a few minority cadres and returned soldiers who are deserting to join the anti-Burmese forces…The Burmese have requested several times for us to sign into action an extradition treaty (adopted for Burmese extradition in 1950 for the busai [sic] troops, political refugees who entered our borders),^[1] which we refused. In the meantime, the Burmese government’s revolutionary power has done away with the minority anti-Burmese troops, as well as other matters. The Burmese government may possibly harbor noteworthy levels of suspicion toward us…When the Burmese militarists’ plane underwent screening at our border, they probably suspected that the anti-Burmese outfit had infiltrated our border.”

On April 30, after the Ne Win government “published the ‘Burmese socialist road’ political program, it was eager to know how it would be received by other nations. Our newspapers and news agencies did not make any announcement.” The Soviet Union, Romania, the Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary all expressed their support. According to our embassy’s report, “The Burmese military junta received our silence with uneasiness. After consulting with the Central Committee, we did not show any direct response to the ‘Burmese socialist road’ program, but merely demonstrated our support for the continuance of their neutrality, the consolidation of ethnic independence, and the development of friendly policy between China and Burma, as well as supporting in general terms the economic development of ethnic minorities.”

^[1] Translation is tentative as the language is very technical.