Bangkok, December 26, 1994. According to Reuter, "Chinese Prime Minister Li Peng arrived in Rangoon on Monday for an official visit aimed at sealing his country's warm relationship with isolated army-ruled Burma. 'My current visit is aimed at fully strengthening the good neighbourly and friendly ties between us and expanding our mutually beneficial cooperation', Li said in an arrival statment broadcast on state-run Radio Rangoon. The radio, monitored by the British Broadcasting Corporation, quoted Li as saying he believed his visit would yield positive results and expand friendship. Li and his party will spend three days in Burma, whose junta, the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC), came to power in 1988 after bloodily suppressing pro-democracy protests. Officials in India and Southeast Asia, wary of Chinese and Burmese intentions, have said they would watch Li's visit keenly for signs of growing Chinese influence. A key fear is that China's growing blue-water navy will gain access to Burma's I

ndian Ocean naval ports, expanding Beijing's military influence near major international shipping lanes.