Myanmar has faced political and economic isolation since the military refused to recognize the results of a democratic election in 1990, won by the pro-democracy National League for Democracy of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.
Foreign donors remain reluctant to help, saying the country's human rights record is not good and urging the Junta to honour the election results. Suu Kyi wants foreign investment and tourism halted until the Junta allows political reform.
Many Western countries, including members of the European Union, the United States and Australia, maintain economic and military sanctions on the country.
The Bush administration has taken a harsh views on the ongoing protests and imposed fresh sanctions against the country.
Neighboring China meanwhile is a key trading partner and one of the regime's few friends, while Thailand is another important export market.
A month of protests, led by monks over the past week, have gripped the country since an unpopular fuel price rise in August. The protests are seen as the biggest threat to the Junta since a 1988 rebellion, which was led by students and monks and crushed by the military with an estimated 3,000 people killed.
