China is flooding part of Myanmar to generate power Myanmar can’t have

China was going to build a giant dam in Myanmar a few years ago, but after Myanmar’s government unexpectedly put a stop to the project in 2011, it didn’t look like it would ever happen. Now, with a leadership change taking effect in 2015, China is confident that the project will move forward. Myanmar (aka Burma), for those keeping score, is a poor Southeast Asian country bordering China. Myanmar is in political upheaval after their repressive military junta stepped down in favor of, let’s say, a democracy-adjacent form of government.
 Why Would China Build a Dam in Myanmar? China loves damming rivers. The country has about 22,000, and the entire rest of the world has about 23,000. Most of China’s dams have been built in the past 50 or so years. Flood control is their first stated concern when they build a dam, followed by generating hydroelectric power. Since China doesn’t have a vested interest in protecting farmers in Myanmar’s river valleys from hazardous flooding, this is obviously about generating hydroelectric power. In some ways you can’t blame them. They generate almost as much CO2 as the U.S., and there’s a big push in China toward sustainable energy (the party line is 15% by 2020). The Myitsone Dam project started in 2001, and made a lot of sense in context.
Yunnan Province, China has an oil pipeline coming in from their unbelievably impoverished neighbor to the south. Getting the area’s energy needs met by throwing them a few table scraps was just how things got done. Untitled drawing China is flooding part of Myanmar to generate power Myanmar cant have A dam project in which China hires a decent number of Myanmarese workers, and eventually gives them 10% of the dam’s profits, and pays an export tax sounded okay at the time to the Myanmarese military government. However, in 2011, Myanmar’s new president, Sein Thein, sort of said (not a direct quote) “Wait.
 Why are we letting you do this? It’s a huge drag for our country.” A Huge Drag for Myanmar What they’re doing is, flooding a piece of Myanmar the size of Singapore. If it happens (and it probably will), it’s going to displace ten thousand villagers and farmers, and completely halt the agricultural prospects of perhaps millions. Dams prevent all flooding, including the good kind needed for some farming, and also stem the flow of nutrients needed by farmers down river. The flooded area also contains heritage sites considered important by the locals. Standing up to China Power Investment out of concern for the livelihood and culture of one pocket of poor people is one of the Thein administration’s signature achievements, and a major environmental and humanitarian success story.
 Presidents don’t normally do things like that. Since they’re changing their story and saying they’ll be resuming this project in 2015, and it’ll be done in 2017, China must be pretty sure Sein Thein won’t be re-elected in 2015, and someone more China-friendly will be. “The next incoming government will hopefully do what is best,” Wang Qiyue, director of China Power Investment, said.