Thai weapons shipments to Myanmar ‘doubled in last year’

UN report claims that despite sanctions and other procedures, the coup is also able to gain access to weapons and money.

According to a new report from a UN analyst, the value of arms and related supplies exported from Thailand to Myanmar doubled in the 2023-2014 fiscal year to$ 120 million.

The UN special rapporteur on individual freedom in Myanmar, Tom Andrews, stated in a statement that while global efforts to disarm Myanmar’s ruling junta have had success on some amounts, the military plan is also able to obtain funds and weapons to fight anti-coup forces.

Companies in Thailand have contributed to the space, according to the review, titled” Death Trade: How Banks and Governments Help the Martial Junta in Myanmar,” despite the city-state’s government’s work.

Mr. Andrews identified 16 businesses in seven nations, including those that have processed deals involving Myanmar’s involvement in the military procurement process over the past two years, and 25 more that have provided correspondent banks to state-owned banks in Myanmar that are under the control of the junta.

The junta has entry to the financial service it needs to carry out comprehensive human rights violations, including flying attacks on civilians, he said, by relying on financial institutions that are willing to conduct business with Myanmar state-owned institutions under its control.

Since the defense seized power from an elected authorities in a 2021 revolt, which sparked economic sanctions against the military, businesses, and other related businesses by European nations, Myanmar has been in turmoil.

More than three years later, a opposition movement against the coup has turned into a full-fledged civil war, with the defense accused of conducting airstrikes against rebels and civilians as a result of its loss of control of significant swathes of territory.

According to the review, the value of imported arms, dual-use systems, manufacturing equipment, and other supplies by the dictatorship totaled$ 253 million in the fiscal year to March 2024.

That was one-third less than the previous year, according to the document, as a result of Singapore’s efforts to stop businesses based in the city-state from supporting the military program.

According to Mr. Andrews, the development demonstrated that sanctions and other global efforts can affect the junta’s ability to replenish supplies and, in turn, lessen the military’s ability to launch airstrikes that have claimed the lives of civilians in their communities.

” They are attacking these villages are dependent upon their access to weapons and supplies supplied from abroad,” he said.

Myanmar’s military denies that it has massacred residents and claims to be fighting “terrorists” against those who are accused of doing so. Authorities have downplayed the effects of sanctions and claimed that they only serve to thwart the government’s effort to restore the nation to politics.

Mr. Andrews examined purchases made by organizations that the Myanmar defense government controls and found that between 2022 and 2024, there were$ 630 million in military procurement.

The value of exports from Singapore dropped from more than$ 110 million in the 2022 fiscal year to just over$ 10 million, the report said.

But, Thailand half filled the gap. According to the report, companies registered in Thailand transferred assets fair$ 120 million in the 2023 governmental year from the prior year’s$ 60 million.

” This change has involved a significant portion of Thai lenders. For instance, Sim Commercial Bank, for example, facilitated just over$ 5 million in transactions involving the Myanmar military in the year ending March 2023, but that figure” soared to over$ 100 million in the following year.”

” In a dramatic illustration, in 2023, Thailand- listed companies became the SAC’s source for extra parts for its Mi- 17 and Mi- 35 helicopters that Singapore- registered companies provided previously”, the report said, referring to the junta’s proper name, the State Administration Council.

” The SAC uses these planes to transport troops and carry out airstrikes on human targets,” according to the SAC,” such as the April 2023 assault on Pazigyi town in the Sagaing Region, which killed about 170 people, including 40 children.”

Srettha Thavisin, the prime minister of Thailand, told Reuters in an interview in April that it would address all conflict-related issues.

The Pazigyi village bombing resulted in the deaths of members of the armed resistance, according to the military.