Myanmar continues to increase its military power near the border of Bangladesh. After the 2017 genocidal purge, the United Nations has called on the international community to reduce the arms supply there. But several countries of the including China and Russia, are still regularly supplying weapons to Myanmar and to the junta.
In 2019, a report by the United Nations Fact-Finding Mission team revealed the names of the countries from which Myanmar buys military weapons. The country’s military fleet has everything from sophisticated weapons to submarines, to state-of-the-art spyware Pegasus for surveillance. And every year, Myanmar is increasing its military capabilities by buying weapons. The size of the defense budget is increasing. According to the Global Firepower Index, Myanmar’s allocation for the defense sector in 2022 is 228 billion US dollars.
The Military Junta is clashing with various rebel groups including the Arakan Army in various border areas. Recently, they have been throwing a shells near Bangladesh borders where Rohingyas reside. The junta is using maximum force to suppress ethnic minority guerrilla groups. Incidents like vandalism and burning of common people’s houses are also happening. The United Nations has called on the international community not to provide financial support and arms to the junta government to stop the oppression of the people. But it does not seem to be working.
Myanmar has its own munitions factory for light weapons and the country buys all the heavy weapons from abroad. Due to close relations with neighboring countries China and India, these two countries fulfill a large part of the country’s armaments. Russia provides warplanes. Rockets and artillery fire are provided by Serbia. According to the United Nations Human Rights Council, China, Russia and Serbia continued to supply arms to the country even after the Military Junta seized power in 2021.
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