SINGAPORE, Sept. 10 (UPI) -- With controversial elections on the horizon, stability in Myanmar is a top priority for leaders in Beijing, an analyst in Singapore said.
The military leadership in Myanmar described the upcoming elections as a key step toward transferring power from military to civilian authority.
Analysts say Myanmar needs support from Beijing in order to gain international backing for the elections scheduled for Nov. 7. Beijing, for its part, has cautioned against casting the elections in a negative light.
Ian Storey, a researcher at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore, told The Wall Street Journal Beijing is keen on seeing Myanmar develop.
"China's No. 1 interest in Myanmar is stability," he said.
Storey notes Beijing is worried things in Myanmar could get "risky" and put significant investments in oil and gas at risk.
Western critics say the elections are far from fair. The poll is expected to be controlled and monitored by an elections commission appointed by military leaders.
Myanmar is also under pressure for the continued detention of Nobel Peace Prize-winner Aung Suu Kyi. She led her National League for Democracy to a decisive victory in 1990, though the military junta never accepted the results.
Suu Kyi has been under house arrest for most of the past two decades and is barred from taking part in elections.
