US places sanctions on Myanmar’s defence ministry, banks

[reader]

From Thai PBS world

The United States on Wednesday imposed sanctions on Myanmar’s defense ministry and two banks used by the ruling military junta to buy arms and other goods from foreign sources.

The U.S. Treasury Department said in a statement the military has relied on foreign sources, including Russian entities under sanctions, to purchase and import arms, equipment and raw materials to manufacture weapons to support its “brutal repression”.

Washington accused the defense ministry of importing goods and materiel worth at least $1 billion since the 2021 coup in which the military leaders seized power.

State-owned Myanmar Foreign Trade Bank (MFTB) and Myanma Investment and Commercial Bank (MICB), were also hit with sanctions. The Treasury said they allowed revenue-generating state-owned enterprises, including Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE), access to international markets.

The banks receive and transmit foreign currencies for Myanmar’s government.

“

Burma’s military regime has leveraged state-run access to international markets to import weapons and materiel, including from sanctioned Russian entities, to continue its violence and oppression,” the Treasury’s Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, Brian Nelson, said in the statement.

The United States and other Western nations have imposed several rounds of sanctions on Myanmar’s military leaders since they seized power in a coup in 2021, overthrowing the democratically elected government led by Aung San Suu Kyi and killing thousands of opponents in a crackdown.

[PeterRS]

 

The United States and other Western nations have imposed several rounds of sanctions on Myanmar’s military leaders since they seized power in a coup in 2021, overthrowing the democratically elected government led by Aung San Suu Kyi and killing thousands of opponents in a crackdown.

And what good has it done, I often wonder. Virtually nothing I believe. With China totally unwilling to accept any disruption on its borders, it is one of the countries supplying the military with substantially amoounts of military aid. Russia the same (although that may be changing as it needs more and more supplies for its illegal incursion into Ukraine) - and perhaps surprisingly also Singapore. $254 million in imports originated from Singapore. This from a CNN Report of May 19.

"Myanmar’s ruling military junta has imported at least $1 billion in weapons and military-related equipment since its bloody coup, according to a new United Nations report which said much of the equipment was coming from individuals and businesses in Russia, China and Singapore."

https://edition.cnn.com/2023/05/18/world/un-myanmar-report-military-junta-deadly-arms-sales-russia-china-intl-hnk/index.html

[reader]

Sanctions may indeed be more symbolic in effect but anything that makes it more difficult for banks or generals to function nsmoothly in international financial circles well worth the effort.

Meanwhile, Prayut paid outgoing homage to Myanmar’s ruling generals in a meeting that caused dismay among other ASEAN neighbors.

From Thai PBS World.

Prayut government’s undiplomatic meeting on Myanmar shows Thailand in a bad light

The informal meeting arranged by Thailand’s caretaker government on the Myanmar crisis has only provided a comfort zone for the junta across the border, but dealt a blow to Thailand’s international reputation and deepened divisions within ASEAN, according to experts.

Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai invited ministers and senior officials from ASEAN and its dialogue partners to the discussions on the ongoing crisis in Myanmar on June 19 in Pattaya, turning a deaf ear to criticism and condemnation domestically and internationally for the reckless initiative of a caretaker government.

Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha defended the initiative, arguing that his government needed to protect Thailand’s national interests in Myanmar as well as border trade and security.

Thailand has suffered the most from the situation in the neighboring country, as it shares more than 3,000 kilometers of land and maritime boundary. Border trade with Myanmar is worth billions of baht annually and Myanmar is a major source of gas supply for Thailand, he argued.

Professor Ukrist Pathmanand of Chulalongkorn University’s Institute of Asian Studies doubted if such a hustled meeting could serve the national interest other than the personal interest of the Thai elite in the caretaker government. Gas concessions in Myanmar might serve the country’s energy security but it also profits big corporates in the sector, he said in an interview with Thai PBS World. “Don’t forget, we have a lobbyist working on Myanmar issues for this caretaker government.”