US absent from Myanmar quake response as rivals fill the vacuum

US absent from Myanmar quake response

As China, Russia, and India rush search-and-rescue teams, emergency supplies, and millions in aid to earthquake-stricken Myanmar, the United States — once the global leader in humanitarian assistance — has offered little more than a delayed promise, The New York Times reported.

A deadly quake and a faltering response

More than 1,700 people are dead following a 7.7-magnitude earthquake that struck central Myanmar on Friday. With entire neighborhoods reduced to rubble and rescue efforts still reaching remote villages, the death toll is expected to rise sharply. Yet the US response has been notably slow and limited. A three-person USAID assessment team is not expected to arrive until Wednesday, and only $2 million in aid has been announced so far — a fraction of what Washington typically contributes in such crises.

Chinese rescue crews, including 126 personnel and trained sniffer dogs, are already working in Mandalay. Russia and India have also landed emergency teams, while Thailand, Vietnam, and Malaysia have mobilized cross-border efforts. In stark contrast, the United States has yet to deliver physical aid on the ground.

The dismantling of USAID weakens America’s hand

The sluggish response is not simply the product of diplomatic hesitation. Under President Trump, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) — once the world’s premier emergency relief apparatus — has been gutted. As the earthquake struck Myanmar on Friday, employees at USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance in Washington were being told to pack up and leave. Layoffs and contractor firings have left the agency hollowed out, unable to deploy the specialized teams and logistical infrastructure it once relied on.

Two employees who were slated to move to US missions in Yangon and Bangkok to coordinate disaster response had their positions eliminated. Certified search-and-rescue teams in Virginia and California were not activated because transportation contracts had been cut. Even simple operations like booking flights or managing payments have become difficult, as entire support units have been dismantled over the past two months.

Myanmar’s crisis exposes a strategic and moral vacuum

The absence of an effective American response has not gone unnoticed. “Being charitable and being seen as charitable serves American foreign policy,” said Michael Schiffer, former USAID Asia administrator. “If we don’t show up and China shows up, that sends a pretty strong message.”

Washington’s retreat comes at a moment when China and Russia are actively expanding their influence in the region. Both nations have dispatched aid, rescue personnel, and equipment, including drones and medical kits. Their visibility in Myanmar is a sharp contrast to the hollow American promises.

Despite a brief statement from the US Embassy in Yangon promising $2 million in humanitarian aid, many of the systems required to deliver that assistance have been left in disarray. Warehouses in Dubai and Malaysia still contain medical kits and supplies, but staffing and transportation gaps have made deploying them difficult.

Foreign aid used to bypass junta, now trapped in limbo

Myanmar's military junta — isolated by Western sanctions since its 2021 coup — remains hostile to the US and other Western governments. Much of the $320 million in American assistance to Myanmar last year was directed to areas outside junta control, supporting health care, education, and emergency relief for displaced civilians. But the network that enabled aid to reach those areas is now fractured.

Villagers in the resistance stronghold of Sagaing reported renewed junta airstrikes just hours after the earthquake. “It’s as if Min Aung Hlaing wants to make sure we die, if not from the earthquake, then from his attacks,” said one resident. Many in Myanmar fear that even well-intentioned foreign aid will ultimately be diverted to the military, which is underfunded and struggling to maintain morale.

A reduced foreign policy tool in a region of rising stakes

While Secretary of State Marco Rubio promised continued American foreign aid last week, he acknowledged the new approach would be far more limited. Aid, he said, would now align strictly with U.S. strategic priorities. But critics argue that’s already creating a vacuum where China and Russia are eager to step in — and being seen as first responders in Myanmar may earn them influence Washington is now struggling to hold.

Trump administration officials maintain that aid is coming, but have warned not to expect the scale or speed of previous responses. “No one should expect the agency’s capabilities to be what they were in the past,” a person familiar with internal calls quoted a USAID appointee as saying.

For Myanmar’s civilians, faith in foreign aid is fading

As foreign aid trickles in and images of Chinese and Russian crews working in Mandalay circulate globally, many Myanmar citizens say they no longer count on help from outside. “In the end, we have only ourselves,” said Ko Aung Kyaw, a resident of quake-hit Sagaing. “We’ve been resisting for four years now, and it’s clear that we’ll have to find our own way forward, no matter what.”