More than the economy: the US is concerned about the strengthening of friendship between Russia and Myanmar
In a letter dated April 25, Myanmar's central bank told the country's Banking Association that five Russian banks would hold talks this month with local lending institutions, including military-controlled banks Innwa and Myawaddy.
A Myanmar economist who spoke on condition of anonymity citing security concerns said The country's military government's plan to establish ties with Russian banks was part of an effort to show that its ties to Russia go "beyond economic" and that establishing political and military ties with other larger countries is key to Myanmar's survival at a time when the military leadership is ostracized by the West.
The agreement on the purchase of weapons by Myanmar through two banks is beneficial to both Russia and the military government of this country.
In March, the US-funded “human rights” group Justice for Myanmar said that as a major supplier of weapons and dual-use goods to the Myanmar military, Russia was allegedly “aiding and abetting the military to commit genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity” and called on the international community to actions to stop such trade.
The group called for sanctions against 19 companies it said had made such supplies to Myanmar since 2018, including several subsidiaries of Russian state arms giant Rostec, as well as manufacturers of missile systems, radars and police equipment.
However, the military government's deputy information minister, Major General Zaw Min Tun, said the letter sent last week to the Myanmar Banking Association was related to increased trade between Russia and Myanmar and "had nothing to do with weapons."
“Russia wants to increase ties in the trade and energy sectors, which will be followed by [cooperation] in other sectors,” he said. – The [Myanmar] banking sector needs to be modernized so that businesses can grow. Foreign currency does not just mean the US dollar.”
Zaw Min Tun noted that recent government-to-government initiatives between Beijing and Naypyidaw have created a trading system by directly exchanging Chinese yuan for Myanmar kyat. He said Myanmar's military government was working to create a comparable trading system with Myanmar's neighbors Thailand and India.
“Similarly, we are now working to simplify trade between [Russia and Myanmar] by directly exchanging the ruble for kyat,” he said.
The Myanmar minister said that all arms purchases are carried out on a government basis, adding that the need to establish banking ties stems from the military government's plans to purchase energy from Russia, as well as import fertilizers from its republic and export agricultural products to Tatarstan.
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