• Burmese
Thursday, June 19, 2025
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Irrawaddy
30 °c
Yangon
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
No Result
View All Result
The Irrawaddy
No Result
View All Result
Home Opinion Analysis

Myanmar Junta Marks UN’s Call for Arms Trade Halt With Shopping Trip

The Irrawaddy by The Irrawaddy
June 21, 2021
in Analysis
Reading Time: 4 mins read
0 0
A A
Regime Defense Minister General Mya Tun Oo (left) and Russian Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin (center) attend the Myanmar Armed Forces Day parade in Naypyitaw in March.

Regime Defense Minister General Mya Tun Oo (left) and Russian Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin (center) attend the Myanmar Armed Forces Day parade in Naypyitaw in March.

11.9k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Myanmar military regime leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing flew out of the country on Sunday to attend a conference in Moscow. This is his second trip abroad since grabbing power from Myanmar’s democratically elected government in February. The official reason for his visit is to attend the Moscow Conference on International Security scheduled for June 22-24. He is not traveling alone, however; several undisclosed items are reportedly on his agenda involving a number of arms brokers and other businessmen close to the ruling generals, all of whom are no doubt looking forward to making a fortune under the junta.

Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing and his delegation visit the Admiralteyskie Verfy Shipyard in St. Petersburg, Russia in April 2019. The director general of the shipyard and other officials briefed him on the production of submarines. / Myanmar military

A few days ago, the UN issued a rare call to halt arms sales to Myanmar in response to the military’s coup and its violence against civilians. While not legally binding, the resolution is politically significant.

Many in Myanmar hoped the 193-member world body would approve the resolution unanimously by consensus, but Belarus called for a vote. The measure was approved with 119 countries voting “yes”, Belarus voting “no” and 36 countries abstaining.

RelatedPosts

ADB Announces Record $100m Quake Aid Package for Myanmar

ADB Announces Record $100m Quake Aid Package for Myanmar

June 18, 2025
502
Myanmar Junta Attacks to Reclaim KIA’s Jade and Rare Earth Strongholds

Myanmar Junta Attacks to Reclaim KIA’s Jade and Rare Earth Strongholds

June 16, 2025
2.1k
Tree-Planting Hides Logging Frenzy; Moving Mountains for Steel Production; and More

Tree-Planting Hides Logging Frenzy; Moving Mountains for Steel Production; and More

June 14, 2025
596

Those not well versed in the international arms trade will be asking, “Why Belarus?” The Eastern European nation is one of a handful of countries that have continued to sell weapons to Myanmar since 1988, when Western countries including the US and the UK stopped arming Myanmar and training its officers in the wake of that year’s coup and subsequent violent crackdowns on demonstrators by the country’s previous military junta. Myanmar also buys arms from Russia, China, India, Pakistan, Israel, Poland, Ukraine and Serbia. (This odd club once included North Korea, a source to which the generals may well return in the future.)

Min Aung Hlaing’s agenda in Russia no doubt includes arms procurement. Moscow is increasingly important to the isolated regime, and a number of media outlets, including this publication, have reported that Myanmar’s generals gave Russia advance warning of the coup and received its moral and political support for the move.

Joining the senior general on the trip is Myanmar Navy chief Admiral Moe Aung, who will attend the International Maritime Defense Show (IMDS) to be held in St. Petersburg from June 23 to 27.

Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing peers through the periscope of the submarine ROSTOV-NA-DONU at the Black Sea Fleet Naval Headquarters during his visit to Russia in June 2017. / Myanmar military

The IMDS showcases products and services including naval and commercial shipbuilding, weapons and armaments.

Russia was the first country to send a top-level delegation to Myanmar in the days after the coup.

Defying calls to isolate the junta internationally, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin was in conspicuous attendance at the Myanmar military’s celebration of Armed Forces Day on March 27, prompting coup maker Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing to express “profound gratitude” for Russia’s vote of confidence.

He went on to “impart that the Russian government and responsible persons from the Russian armed forces are acknowledged and inscribed for their substantial support to the Tatmadaw [Myanmar’s military] in a friendly manner, though we are far apart [geographically].”

In fact, regime officials have made several unpublicized visits to Russia since the coup. In May, the junta sent a high-ranking military delegation to Moscow. Air Force chief General Maung Maung Kyaw led the team and was accompanied by other high-ranking military officers.

Joining that trip was well-known Myanmar tycoon U Tay Za. He and the other delegation members discussed with their Russian counterparts over 20 megaprojects including procurement of arms and military hardware. U Tay Za supplies aircraft parts to the military through his company Myanmar Avia Export. The company is Myanmar’s sole representative for Russia’s Export Military Industrial Group, known as MAPO, and of the Russian helicopter company Rostvertol.

U Tay Za, now in his mid 50s, has seen the fortunes of his business empire ebb and wane over the last decade, but with the military back in power he is well poised to make a comeback, as the regime will need him to supply more arms in the future.

The tycoon, who was on the US sanctions list in years past but was removed from it in 2016, is not alone. There are a growing number of arms dealers in Myanmar, many of them younger than U Tay Za, well-traveled and with strong connections to companies in China, Singapore, Belarus, Russia and Serbia. They are not currently on the West’s radar as sanctions targets. Their business interests include hotels, upscale restaurants, villas, ports, construction firms and mining ventures, among many others.

More importantly, this young generation of cronies has direct access to Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing’s family, as they are known to be close to his son, U Aung Pyae Sone. He and his sister, businesswoman Daw Khin Thiri Thet Mon, are now on the US sanctions list.

In March, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced sanctions on the duo and six companies controlled by them.

Several companies involved in energy, heavy machinery, metals, timber, chemicals and construction also have strong business ties with Russia, Serbia, Ukraine and Belarus and other countries in Eastern and Central Europe.

Additionally, unconfirmed reports from Myanmar business circles indicate that a military mission to Serbia is in the pipeline in the near future. The mission will include high-ranking officials from the Defense Ministry as well as some businessmen who have established relationships in Serbia and Ukraine.

Myanmar and then-Yugoslavia established diplomatic ties in 1950, and Myanmar has maintained relations with Serbia since Yugoslavia broke up in the 1990s.

In the early 1950s, Myanmar bought arms from Belgrade. It is said that Myanmar first reached out to Belgrade through the Yugoslav Embassy in Pakistan. General Ne Win, who was then Myanmar’s army chief, was impressed by the rapid, no-fuss delivery of its weapons orders—typically howitzers and other artillery pieces—from Yugoslavia. Myanmar has been a customer of Belgrade’s ever since.

Aside from Russia, Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing has visited the country’s neighbors in Eastern and Central Europe, including Serbia, looking to maintain the support of these valued suppliers of military hardware.

In January 2015, when Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing received Serbian Ambassador to Myanmar Miodrag Nikolin, he reminded the envoy of the long history of friendly relations between Myanmar and Serbia and expressed a desire to see ties strengthen in the future.

Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing and Serbian Ambassador Miodrag Nikolin meet in Naypyitaw in January 2015. / GNLM

A state-run newspaper in Myanmar reported at the time, “After establishing diplomatic relations between Myanmar and Yugoslavia on 29 December 1950, the two countries have opened embassies in the capitals and cooperated in the manufacturing of locomotive engines and some weapons, shipbuilding and irrigation.”

You may also like these stories:

Myanmar Junta Hired Mon People to Join Coup Leader at Bridge Ceremony

Myanmar Junta Uses Human Shields to Stop KIA Attacks

China supports ASEAN’s engagement with Myanmar Junta

Your Thoughts …
Tags: ArmsBelarusbusinessmendelegationjuntaMin Aung HlaingprocurementregimeRussiaSerbiatripU Tay ZavisitWeapons
The Irrawaddy

The Irrawaddy

...

Similar Picks:

As Myanmar’s Military Stumbles, a Top General’s Dissapearance Fuels Intrigue
Burma

As Myanmar’s Military Stumbles, a Top General’s Dissapearance Fuels Intrigue

by The Irrawaddy
April 19, 2024
46.9k

The junta’s No. 2 has not been seen in public since April 3, sparking rumors that he was either gravely...

Read moreDetails
Enter the Dragon, Exit the Junta: Myanmar’s Brotherhood Alliance makes Chinese New Year Vow
Burma

Enter the Dragon, Exit the Junta: Myanmar’s Brotherhood Alliance makes Chinese New Year Vow

by The Irrawaddy
February 12, 2024
44.7k

Ethnic armed grouping says it will continue Operation 1027 offensive until goal of ousting the junta is achieved. 

Read moreDetails
Drone Attack at Myanmar-China Border Gate Causes Over $14m in Losses
Business

Drone Attack at Myanmar-China Border Gate Causes Over $14m in Losses

by The Irrawaddy
November 27, 2023
38.5k

Jin San Jiao is latest northern Shan State trade hub in crosshairs of ethnic Brotherhood Alliance.

Read moreDetails
Arakan Army Captures Myanmar Junta Brigade General in Chin State Rout: Report
Burma

Arakan Army Captures Myanmar Junta Brigade General in Chin State Rout: Report

by The Irrawaddy
January 15, 2024
36.5k

Rakhine-based armed group has reportedly detained the chief of 19th Military Operations Command after seizing his base in Paletwa Township.

Read moreDetails
Myanmar Coup Leader Showers Medals on Troops as String of Defeats Erodes Morale
Burma

Myanmar Coup Leader Showers Medals on Troops as String of Defeats Erodes Morale

by The Irrawaddy
December 8, 2023
32.9k

Min Aung Hlaing was trying to distract attention from a string of military defeats by handing out 147 medals for...

Read moreDetails
AA Urges Myanmar Junta Troops to Surrender as Western Command Burns
War Against the Junta

AA Urges Myanmar Junta Troops to Surrender as Western Command Burns

by The Irrawaddy
December 18, 2024
25.3k

Ethnic army reportedly poised to capture regime’s last stronghold in Rakhine State.

Read moreDetails
Load More
Next Post
The funeral of four relatives in Kale, Sagaing Region. / CJ

Myanmar Junta Kills 13 Civilians Over Weekend

Yangonites show solidarity with Mandalay

Yangonites show solidarity with Mandalay

No Result
View All Result

Recommended

China is Systematically Dismantling Tibetan Monastic Traditions

China is Systematically Dismantling Tibetan Monastic Traditions

3 days ago
1.6k
China’s Bet on Myanmar Junta Risks Backfiring

China’s Bet on Myanmar Junta Risks Backfiring

2 days ago
1.6k

Most Read

  • On Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s Birthday, Recalling the Cake That Rattled the Junta

    On Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s Birthday, Recalling the Cake That Rattled the Junta

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Bago Resistance Claims 20 Myanmar Junta Personnel Killed

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Global Campaign Reaches Goal to Honor Aung San Suu Kyi on Her 80th Birthday

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • KIA, Junta Troops Continue Battle for Control of Myanmar’s Jade Hub

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • ADB Announces Record $100m Quake Aid Package for Myanmar

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Newsletter

Get The Irrawaddy’s latest news, analyses and opinion pieces on Myanmar in your inbox.

Subscribe here for daily updates.

Contents

  • News
  • Politics
  • War Against the Junta
  • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
  • Conflicts In Numbers
  • Junta Crony
  • Ethnic Issues
  • Asia
  • World
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Election 2020
  • Elections in History
  • Cartoons
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Commentary
  • Guest Column
  • Analysis
  • Letters
  • In Person
  • Interview
  • Profile
  • Dateline
  • Specials
  • Myanmar Diary
  • Women & Gender
  • Places in History
  • On This Day
  • From the Archive
  • Myanmar & COVID-19
  • Intelligence
  • Myanmar-China Watch
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Food
  • Fashion & Design
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • Photo Essay
  • Donation

About The Irrawaddy

Founded in 1993 by a group of Myanmar journalists living in exile in Thailand, The Irrawaddy is a leading source of reliable news, information, and analysis on Burma/Myanmar and the Southeast Asian region. From its inception, The Irrawaddy has been an independent news media group, unaffiliated with any political party, organization or government. We believe that media must be free and independent and we strive to preserve press freedom.

  • Copyright
  • Code of Ethics
  • Privacy Policy
  • Team
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Burmese

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Business Roundup
  • Books
  • Donation

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.