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The criticism by Democrats and Republicans in Congress reflects the souring view of the Southeast Asian nation\u2019s transformation from decades of army rule to democracy as evidence of widespread abuses has mounted. Myanmar\u2019s siege-like denial it\u2019s done anything wrong has only furthered its estrangement from much of the world. Before last year\u2019s crackdown, McCain was advocating more U.S.-Myanmar military ties, not less. Now he\u2019s one of the sponsors of a new sanctions bill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Trump administration already has imposed sanctions on the chief of Myanmar\u2019s western military command and says it\u2019s considering blacklisting others. It maintains restrictions on visas and assistance to Myanmar\u2019s military.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But the Senate\u2019s bipartisan bill, approved Wednesday by the Foreign Relations Committee, would turn the screw by pushing for more targeted sanctions and by reinforcing restrictions on military engagement with Myanmar, also known as Burma. A partner bill has been introduced in the House.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe need to bridge the impunity gap that protects Burma\u2019s military,\u201d said Democratic Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has described the attacks on Rohingya as \u201cethnic cleansing.\u201d U.N.-appointed investigator Yanghee Lee has gone further, saying it \u201cbears the hallmarks of a genocide,\u201d which the world body defines as acts committed with intent to destroy a national, ethnic or religious group. Unlike ethnic cleansing, genocide is a crime under international law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rep. Ed Royce, the House Foreign Affairs Committee\u2019s Republican chairman, and Democrat Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont, architect of a law prohibiting U.S. assistance to foreign military units implicated in serious human rights abuses, also said Myanmar had no business taking part in the drills in Thailand. They include 29 nations. About 20 are observers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe should not be rewarding those who flagrantly violate international law with impunity,\u201d Leahy said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The plight of the Rohingya has highlighted the Myanmar military\u2019s unchallenged authority over security operations despite ceding power to a civilian government after 2015 elections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Myanmar staunchly denies that its security forces have targeted civilians in its \u201cclearance operations\u201d in Rakhine State on Myanmar\u2019s west coast. Even civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel peace laureate, has bristled at the international criticism. But Myanmar\u2019s denials have appeared increasingly tenuous as horrific accounts from refugees have accumulated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Associated Press last week documented through video and witness accounts at least five mass graves of Rohingya civilians. Witnesses reported the military used acid to erase the identity of victims. The government denied it, maintaining that only \u201cterrorists\u201d were killed and then \u201ccarefully buried.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis added his voice to the U.S. criticism. Visiting Asia late last month, he said the Rohingya have suffered \u201ca tragedy that\u2019s worse than anything\u201d the media have been able to portray.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And yet the Pentagon sees benefits in sustaining lower-level ties with Myanmar\u2019s military. Although the U.S. primarily engages Myanmar\u2019s civilian leaders, it still hopes to shape the attitudes of military officers and help counter China\u2019s strategic influence, said Murray Hiebert, a Southeast Asia expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Katina Adams, a State Department spokeswoman for East Asia, said the Cobra Gold invite reflected a U.S. effort to \u201csave lives\u201d by improving regional coordination for disasters like Cyclone Nargis. The storm killed more than 100,000 Burmese in 2008.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thailand extended the invite, Pentagon spokesman Logan said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat\u2019s a dodge,\u201d retorted John Sifton of Human Rights Watch, who wants Myanmar treated as a pariah again. \u201cIf the U.S. had strongly objected to their participation, they wouldn\u2019t have been invited. Everyone knows that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Associated Press writer Richard Lardner contributed to this report.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Lawmakers are demanding Myanmar\u2019s exclusion from U.S.-led military exercises in neighboring Thailand next week amid pressure for more American sanctions in response to atrocities against Rohingya Muslims.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":101288,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":8,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[100,8,12,25,68],"tags":[],"coauthors":[259],"class_list":["post-68757","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-flashpoints","category-news","category-newsletters","category-pentagon-congress"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"GGAFWHJYNVD5LDNIB5QU4PAIJY","arc_canonical_url":"\/flashpoints\/2018\/02\/08\/myanmars-place-at-us-military-drills-in-asia-draws-ire\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"\n