Myanmar’s military junta has announced plans to import Russian oil and gas, a military spokesperson announced.
“We have received permission to import petrol from Russia,” military spokesperson Zaw Min Tun said during a press briefing on Wednesday, adding that the government favoured Russian supplies for their “quality and low cost.” The spokesperson said junta chief Min Aung Hlaing had discussed oil and gas export during a trip to Russia last month and that the country would consider joint oil exploration in Myanmar with Russia and China.
Russian fuel shipments will reportedly begin arriving in September, with Naypyidaw currently securing its fuel imports from Singapore.
To this end, the military government established a Russian Oil Purchasing Committee to oversee the buying, importing, and transport of fuel at affordable prices. According to state media, the committee is being headed by “a close ally” of Min Aung Hlaing.
The development comes shortly after Russian Foreign Minister (FM) Sergey Lavrov’s visit to Myanmar earlier this month, during which he discussed economic and security issues with the military-appointed FM Wunna Maung Lwin. “We appreciate the traditionally friendly nature of our partnership, which is not affected by any opportunistic processes,” Lavrov said during the visit, referring to the country as a “friendly and longstanding partner.”
In the race of democracy and totalitarianism, we can say totalitarianism is ahead by seeing how China and Russia is supporting the junta in Myanmar and the democratic countries around the world providing little to no support to the people of Myanmar, giving their lives everyday.
— Aung Kyaw Moe (@akmoe2) August 18, 2022
Myanmar and Russia have continued to maintain friendly ties, even as both nations have been hit with a slew of sanctions from Western countries—Myanmar’s junta for a military coup that overthrew its democratically elected Aung San Suu Kyi government last year, and Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. Moscow has been on the lookout for new customers for its energy resources in the region, as Europe, its biggest export destination, has begun to virtually embargo all Russian oil by the end of the year.
Russia has shielded Myanmar from international backlash for its undemocratic actions and rights abuses. Being a permanent member of the 15-member United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has allowed Russia to repeatedly veto or delay resolutions condemning the coup and instituting arms embargoes. Moscow is also motivated by the desire to protect its vested interests in Naypyidaw, as it is the second-largest arms supplier to Myanmar’s military. Moscow also provides army training and university scholarships to thousands of Burmese soldiers, and Russian representatives regularly attend military parades and diplomatic events in Myanmar.
According to a United Nations (UN) report, Russia has provided fighter jets, armoured vehicles, and drones to the junta. The UN believes that the arms were supplied to Myanmar with “full knowledge that they would be used to attack civilians.”
In fact, The UN General Assembly has already passed a resolution asking member states to halt the supply of arms to Myanmar; however, Russia and China abstained from voting on the issue.
Apart from security ties, trade between Myanmar was recorded at $431.6 million last year, up 16.5% from 2020.