Military-dominated Russia, Myanmar’s closest friend and largest arms supplier, participates in a cooperative naval drill.
Tuesday, Myanmar, a military-run country in Southeast Asia, is conducting its first joint naval exercise with Russia. The two nations will be practicing maneuvers in the Andaman Sea.
News from the state-run The Russian marine security drill was ongoing till Thursday, according to the Myanmar publication Global New Light, and it was taking place 157 kilometers (85 miles) west of Myeik in the country’s extreme south. Russian navy ships left Yangon to participate, according to MRTV, the country’s state broadcaster.
Sources, the three-day joint exercise, which includes planes and naval vessels, is centered on defending against attacks from the air, sea, and land in addition to other maritime security measures.
Russia is a significant ally and weaponry supplier to Myanmar’s military regime, which was imposed in February 2021 after the army overthrew Aung San Suu Kyi’s democratic administration. In international fora, Russia stands up for Myanmar’s military regime; in exchange, the country’s leading generals generally back Moscow’s foreign policy objectives.
Since the military took over and violently put an end to anti-government protests, which resulted in the deaths of hundreds of civilians and gave rise to an armed resistance movement in various regions of the country, many Western countries have considered Myanmar as a pariah state.
The commander-in-chief of the Russian navy, Adm. Nikolai Yevmenov, met with Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, the head of the military administration, on Monday at Thilawa port in the southern region of Yangon, according to the Global New Light of Myanmar.
The head of Myanmar examined a guard of honor and took a tour of one of the Russian vessels, which the Russian officer welcomed. According to the sources, Min Aung Hlaing was briefed on the capabilities of Russian weaponry, the installation of contemporary systems, and the existence of an anti-submarine helicopter.
In a report submitted in May to the Geneva-based Human Rights Council, Tom Andrews, the U.N. independent investigator on human rights in Myanmar, noted that $406 million in weapons and supplies from Russia, $267 million from China, $254 million from Singapore, $51 million from India, and $28 million from Thailand were transferred to the Myanmar military.
