The Trump administration is assessing the possibility of obtaining rare earth minerals from Myanmar
Reuters, July 28 - In the context of intensifying competition between China and the United States for rare earth resources, the Trump administration is assessing the possibility of obtaining rare earth minerals from Myanmar. According to reports, the U.S. is currently examining two proposals separately: one advocates negotiating with the Myanmar military government to urge it to reach a peace agreement with the Kachin Independence Army (KIA); the other calls for the U.S. to directly negotiate with the KIA without going through the military government.
Analysts point out that since the Myanmar military government came to power, the U.S. has consistently taken a stance of resistance against it, imposing multiple sanctions on the Myanmar military government on charges of "genocide" and "crimes against humanity." Therefore, the U.S. attitude toward the Myanmar military government on the rare earth issue has become one of the main issues in the current U.S. actions. However, due to the importance of the rare earth issue, and because the Myanmar military government has actively sent signals to improve relations with the U.S. after Trump took office, bilateral relations between the U.S. and Myanmar may see some breakthroughs in the near future. For example, the Trump administration recently lifted some sanctions against the Myanmar military government and its allies, and there are also reports that the Trump administration is also lowering or relaxing the "reciprocal tariffs" imposed on Myanmar.
Additionally, it should be noted that the U.S. intends to use India as an export, transshipment, and processing center for Myanmar's rare earth minerals, and may establish a new international division of labor and trade system for rare earth processing under the "Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) mechanism." However, experts emphasize that the U.S. related plans face multiple difficulties: on one hand, building infrastructure for rare earth processing will take at least several years to achieve, which is difficult to meet the U.S.'s immediate needs; on the other hand, most of Myanmar's rare earth mines are located near the China-Myanmar border, meaning that the mining, loading, and cross-border transportation of minerals are all within the scope of Chinese influence, and it is unrealistic to expect China to remain indifferent to U.S. actions that challenge its position in the rare earth industry in its surrounding areas.
Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1839146201132044/
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