US imposes sanction on Myanmar

The United States has implemented sanctions on Myanmar’s defence ministry and two banks that the military regime utilises to procure arms and other goods from foreign sources. The US Treasury Department, in a statement on Wednesday, revealed that the military has relied on foreign sources, including Russian entities already under sanctions, to purchase arms, equipment, and raw materials for weapon manufacturing, supporting their “brutal repression.”

According to Washington, Myanmar’s defence ministry has imported goods and materials worth at least $1 billion since the 2021 coup, during which military leaders seized power from Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi’s democratically elected government. State-owned Myanmar Foreign Trade Bank (MFTB) and Myanma Investment and Commercial Bank (MICB) have also been subjected to sanctions. The Treasury stated that these banks facilitated international market access for revenue-generating state-owned enterprises, including Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise.

The US Treasury’s undersecretary for “terrorism” and financial intelligence, Brian Nelson, declared, “Burma’s military regime has leveraged state-run access to international markets to import weapons and materials, including from sanctioned Russian entities, to continue its violence and oppression.”

Since the military coup and subsequent brutal crackdown on mass protests, the US and other Western nations have imposed multiple rounds of sanctions on Myanmar’s generals. The situation in the country has deteriorated further, with the military being accused of indiscriminate airstrikes and the destruction of civilian villages. Anti-coup forces have formed People’s Defence Forces, sometimes collaborating with ethnic armed groups that have been in conflict with the military for decades.

Ahead of the US announcement, a spokesman for Myanmar’s military regime, Zaw Min Tun, stated that they were unconcerned about any new sanctions. He claimed that the country had experienced sanctions in the past without suffering losses if new ones were imposed on state-owned banks. Zaw Min Tun attributed the US actions to causing difficulties in the country’s economic and political landscape.

Experts suggest that while the sanctions on the banks do not directly target gas projects that generate significant revenue for the military administration, they could impact its ability to finance its war against ethnic groups and rebellions. A report by campaign group EarthRights International in February highlighted that the two banks served as Myanmar’s “foreign currency treasuries” and were now under military control. The report emphasised that the junta relies on foreign currency for purchasing jet fuel, small arms production parts, and other supplies that cannot be obtained using the Myanmar kyat.