Energy Geopolitics and Humanitarian Crises: China’s Belt and Road Initiative and the Rohingya Crisis

This thesis examines how energy geopolitics have shaped the Rohingya crisis in Myanmar by focusing on the case of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), particularly the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC). The Rohingya crisis is a humanitarian issue and genocide driven by ethnic citizenship denial, violence, and forced migration. CMEC’s energy infrastructure strategy, which includes oil and gas fields and pipelines located in areas where the crisis is concentrated, provides China with strategic energy routes while strengthening its influence in Myanmar. This overlap raises questions about how China’s interests may have impacted the Rohingya crisis by harming the population or preventing responsiveness. Using dependency theory, this study conducts qualitative content analysis of government, IO, and NGO documents, statements, and independent reports, from 2000 to 2025, to examine how CMEC impacts the Rohingya crisis across three dimensions: 1) material conditions of the Rohingya...Show moreThis thesis examines how energy geopolitics have shaped the Rohingya crisis in Myanmar by focusing on the case of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), particularly the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC). The Rohingya crisis is a humanitarian issue and genocide driven by ethnic citizenship denial, violence, and forced migration. CMEC’s energy infrastructure strategy, which includes oil and gas fields and pipelines located in areas where the crisis is concentrated, provides China with strategic energy routes while strengthening its influence in Myanmar. This overlap raises questions about how China’s interests may have impacted the Rohingya crisis by harming the population or preventing responsiveness. Using dependency theory, this study conducts qualitative content analysis of government, IO, and NGO documents, statements, and independent reports, from 2000 to 2025, to examine how CMEC impacts the Rohingya crisis across three dimensions: 1) material conditions of the Rohingya population, 2) policy-making, and 3) responsiveness of international organizations (IOs). The thesis finds that energy geopolitics have shaped the Rohingya crisis by worsening material conditions for the Rohingya and reducing international pressure on Myanmar. Although it finds no direct policy change, the combined findings point to a broader implication that CMEC strengthens dependency structures that enable the crisis to persist.Show less

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Energy Geopolitics and Humanitarian Crises: China’s Belt and Road Initiative and the Rohingya Crisis