Myanmar’s Foreign Policy under President U Thein Sein

Given Myanmar's strategic location and the wider great power competition in Southeast Asia, how the country positions itself vis-à-vis the major powers in the reform era currently underway will have considerable bearing for the international politics of Southeast Asia. Historically, Myanmar's leaders have preferred an independent foreign policy that has also been couched in terms of neutralism and non-alignment.Following considerable tension between the stated principle of non-alignment and the