The military regime on Tuesday promulgated the Private Security Services Law, which enables Chinese private security organizations to be stationed in Myanmar to protect Beijing’s interests in the country, including Belt and Road Initiative related projects.
The law emerged nearly four months after the regime formed a working committee to sign a memorandum of understanding on the establishment of a joint venture security company on Oct. 22 last year.
Though the law allows foreign companies to apply for licenses, it is fair to say the law is specifically designed to accommodate China, among the junta’s few allies. Beijing has constantly put pressure on the regime to protect Chinese projects and businesses, and the safety of their employees, and it was China that proposed forming a joint venture security company.
Over the past four years, the regime has lost control over large swathes of territory from areas near the Chinese border in north and north-eastern Myanmar to Rakhine State in the country’s west, where Chinese projects crucial for its Belt and Road Initiative are located.
With many project areas now controlled by ethnic armed organizations and revolutionary groups, China has decided to send its own security companies to Myanmar to take matters into its own hands, observers say.
Highlights of the law
The law will allow Chinese security companies to officially establish a presence across Myanmar, as Chinese projects are spread across the country. These companies can provide security services not only for Chinese organizations, projects and companies, but also for public events in which Chinese citizens and equipment are involved.
According to the law, if a crime is committed in places where these security services are being provided, security companies have the authority to apprehend perpetrators and hand them over to the nearest police station. This means protests outside the Chinese Embassy, vandalism at Chinese factories, or activities disturbing Chinese projects could be strictly dealt with, observers say.
The Private Security Services Law states that foreign companies can bear arms with the approval of the National Defense and Security Council and requires that at least 75 percent of their employees must be Myanmar nationals. Security personnel must not be members of any foreign armed forces.
Additionally, the law requires that security companies assist the regime in its security and law enforcement operations, collaborate with the junta’s security forces, and report without fail information about any possible threat to the regime—all of which will greatly benefit the junta.
There have been criticisms that the regime adopted the Private Security Services Law to circumvent a constitutional provision that prohibits foreign troops from being stationed in Myanmar.
A committee overseeing private security services will be chaired by the minister of home affairs, with the police chief serving as the vice-chairman.
Elsewhere in the world, Chinese private security companies are primarily focused on protecting Chinese projects and staff abroad.
In Myanmar, there are questions about whether the regime will influence Chinese private security companies, as the Chinese government recently promised to provide the Home Affairs Ministry with 5 million yuan (about $686,000).
Moreover, the regime has relied heavily on China not only to maintain its grip on power amid a nationwide armed revolt, but also for diplomatic support on the international stage.
This raises questions about how much influence the junta will have over the security companies China dispatches. Meanwhile, the move has been widely criticized as an infringement on national sovereignty.
