Australia’s Asian challenge just got more complicated
For a government that is counting on south-east Asia to reduce its reliance on China, the Myanmar coup is just the latest setback for democracy across the region.
When Aung San Suu Kyi suddenly cancelled her only speech during a visit to Australia in March 2018, she provided a then unappreciated insight into the contours of this week’s surgically efficient military takeover.
Here was a Nobel Peace prize winner bluntly refusing to face questions over the brutal expulsion of 700,000 Rohingya Muslims from her country. It was a stunning contrast to her first official visit in 2013 when she received hushed adulation as a global democracy icon during a packed Sydney Opera House appearance.
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Greg Earl is an editor and writer. He was the AFR deputy editor, opinion editor, Asia-Pacific editor and a correspondent in Jakarta, Tokyo and New York. Connect with Greg on Twitter.
