BANGKOK/YANGON -- When the West cut off aid to Myanmar after the military took control in 2021, China rushed to fill the vacuum under its Belt and Road infrastructure-building initiative. But growing concern over China's so-called debt trap diplomacy threatens the of progress of a jewel of the initiative, the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor.
Part of the project appears to be full-steam ahead after a rail network section that connects western China to Myanmar begun operating in recent months. For Beijing, the development is seen as crucial because it has the potential to open up a vital route to the Indian Ocean.
