YANGON, (Reuters) – China has lodged a diplomatic protest with Myanmar after a court in the southeast Asian nation sentenced 153 Chinese nationals to life imprisonment for illegal logging.
China’s voracious demand for Myanmar’s raw materials has fuelled resentment in Myanmar towards its giant northern neighbour.
Regions along Myanmar’s porous border with China have long been hotbeds for an illegal trade in timber to feed Chinese demand. Much of Myanmar’s jade is also believed to be illegally smuggled into China.
A court in Myitkyina, capital of Kachin State in the north of Myanmar, handed down sentences to 155 Chinese citizens on Wednesday. Two of those convicted escaped life sentences and got 10-year prison terms.
All will have a chance to appeal against the rulings, said a court official, who declined to be identified as he was not authorized to speak to the media.
An official from Myitkyina’s prison department confirmed the sentences.
China’s Foreign Ministry said it was “extremely concerned” about the decision and had lodged a protest with Myanmar.
“China had repeatedly, on many levels and through many channels, made representations with Myanmar about the case,” it said in a short statement.
China had demanded that Myanmar deal with the case “in a lawful, reasonable and justified manner” the Foreign Ministry added, so that the case could be concluded properly and the nationals returned.
The sentences were too harsh and may be due to anti-Chinese feeling in Myanmar, the influential Global Times tabloid, published by the ruling Communist Party’s official People’s Daily, said in an editorial on Thursday.
