The oil companies have also built roads and support services which can be used by the regime to suppress opposition. In 1988 the Burmese regime was on the verge of bankruptcy. The Indian government fears that China may be making use of Burma to gain access to ports in the Andaman Sea.
China provides about a quarter of all official Burmese imports.
But China's public attitude remains ambiguous. Despite the fact that China is a permanent member of the UN Security Council and therefore has a veto, a General Assembly resolution earlier this year condemning Burma's human rights record was carried unanimously. The death toll in the country has now reached more than one million, according to some reports. The forced labour camps match Pol Pot's reign of terror in Cambodia. Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of the pro-democracy movement that was denied office after winning elections three years ago, remains under house arrest.