Saturday, June 24, 2017

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine

Will Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing’s Russia Visit Unlock More Military Cooperation?

Posted: 23 Jun 2017 09:57 PM PDT

At the VI Moscow Conference on International Security organized in April 2017, the Russian deputy defense minister Lt-Gen Alexander Fomin held talks with Rear Admiral Myint Nwe, deputy defense minister of Myanmar. The meeting confirmed commander-in-chief of Myanmar's armed forces Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing's visit to Russia this month.

Alexander Fomin remarked "we see good prospects of cooperation in military and military-technical fields between the two countries from the upcoming visit of the commander-in-chief of Myanmar".

Alexander Fomin can be said to be a key player in Russia's expansion of military ties with foreign countries in the past few years. He has taken a lead role in Russia's military technical cooperation with international countries—in other words, finding new markets for Russia's military technology.

From 2005 to 2015, he served in the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation, and was promoted through the ranks from deputy director to director. In January this year, he was appointed deputy defense minister.

Alexander Fomin reportedly has cordial ties with Myanmar's military. After visits were exchanged between Russian defense minister Sergey K. Shoygu and Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing in 2013, Lt-Gen Alexander Fomin visited Myanmar in November of the same year in his capacity as the joint-chairman of the Russia-Myanmar military technical cooperation.

When Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing went to Belarus in November 2014, he made a stopover in Russia for transit, and Alexander Fomin came and met him at the airport. In September 2015, he visited Myanmar again. Whenever he met Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing, the discussion focused on the promotion of military ties and military technical cooperation. It can be said that his discussions have achieved certain results.

Since 2011, Myanmar-Russia military relations have gone from strength to strength. After 1988, Myanmar relied on its neighbor China because of sanctions from western countries. Especially, the Tatmadaw came to rely heavily on China for the procurement of weapons. From 1988, when the military staged a coup, to 2000, the Tatmadaw purchased weapons mostly from China, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

According SIPRI data, Tatmadaw spent US$1.63 billion on weapons over this period.

In his book "In the Name of Phauk-Phaw," Maung Aung Myo wrote: "The Tatmadaw was not happy with Chinese weapons …. so the Tatmadaw began to procure more advanced Russia weapons and sent more trainees to Russia in the early of 2000s."

In 2001, the Tatmadaw purchased 12 MiG29B fighter jets from Russia and continued to purchase more and more sophisticated weapons from the country.

From 2001 to 2016, the Tatmadaw mainly purchased weapons from Russia, with the total value of weapons it purchased from Russia during that period even higher than that of weapons bought from China. According to records, the procurement totaled $1.45 billion whereas the procurement from China was just $1.42 billion.

This indicates that Myanmar's military cooperation with Russia increased after 2001. Recently, a Russian company handed over three Yak-130 trainer aircrafts purchased by the Tatmadaw. More aircraft will be transferred in 2018.

Myanmar, which mainly sent trainees to China after 1988, has now sent large numbers of trainees to Russia in recent years.

Author Ludmila Lutz-Auras, quoting the records of Russia's Education Ministry, said there were a total of 4,705 Myanmar citizens learning in Russian universities in the 20 years between 1993 to 2013—the number is the second largest from South East Asia, following Vietnam.

In an interview with state-run Myanma Alinn newspaper published on June 5, Russian Ambassador to Myanmar Nikolay A. Listopadov said around 6,000 Tatmadaw students have graduated from prestigious universities in Russia and some have received post-graduate and doctoral degrees. There are currently around 600 male and female students learning in Russia. It is interesting that the ambassador linked the Tatmadaw's efforts to establish a Standard Army with Russia's scholarship programs.

In November 2013, three Russian naval ships arrived at Yangon to commemorate 65 years of diplomatic ties between Russia and Myanmar. This was the first time Russian naval ships had come to Myanmar in modern history. In May last year, three Russian naval ships visited Yangon again.

The bilateral relations have been further reinforced by agreements signed in the last few years. In November 2014, Myanmar's Parliament approved the agreement between Russia and Myanmar on military intelligence cooperation. Shortly after the National League for Democracy (NLD) assumed office, the Parliament approved an agreement on military cooperation between Russia and Myanmar.

Defense ministers of the two countries signed the agreement in June last year. Though the agreement is mainly about technical transfers and military academic training, it is interesting to see that Myanmar, a country in transition, signed a military agreement with a superpower like Russia.

The Tatmadaw realized in the 2000s that it could not be completely dependent on China regarding international relations, military technology, and weapon procurement, and boosted its ties with Russia. Besides Russia, it also started to establish relations with a number of non-Western countries.  Following political transition, it was free to develop good ties with western countries.

Though the Tatmadaw is currently not able to procure weapons from western countries, it has re-established ties with them and dispatches trainees to the US and the UK on a regular basis. In addition, it has also started to purchase training aircraft from companies from Germany, a member of the EU. Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing addressed the EU Military Committee Meeting held in Brussels last year.

The Tatmadaw's ties with western countries have undeniably improved in the past few years. But it is not without restrictions. Especially, there are still a lot of restrictions in purchasing weapons and military technology. So, countries like Russia are a strategic partner country for Myanmar Tatmadaw to achieve its aim of establishing a "Standard Army." While military relations with western countries depend largely on relations between civilian governments, Myanmar Tatmadaw can engage more independently with Russia without being influenced by the shadow of civilian government.

Meanwhile, with the rising of China in the international arena, Russia has started to acknowledge the importance of the Asia Pacific region. Soviet leader Lenin said: "Let us turn our faces towards Asia. The East will help us conquer the West." And Vladimir Putin now also has growing interest in the East. In particular, South East Asia plays an important part in Russia's Look East approach.

In recent years, Russia's economy, along with the country's arms exports, has declined. The country earned $7.78 billion in 2013 from arms exports, but that amount dropped to $5.10 billion in 2014 and $5.56 billion in 2015. It is mainly because its large customer China has paid greater attention to production of arms at home and its markets in Eastern Europe and the Middle East are slumping. The market in India, which depends on Russia for 75 percent of its weapons, is also in decline. Under such circumstances, Southeast Asian countries, which are competitively building armies, have become new target for Russia.

Military analysts have estimated that Southeast Asia will spend a total of $40 billion on arms and technologies by 2020. Taking a look at Southeast Asian countries' procurement of arms from Russian from 2011 to 2016, Vietnam spent $5.74 billion, Myanmar $1.45 billion, Malaysia $1.30 billion, and Indonesia $1.15 billion. During that period, Myanmar was the second largest buyer of Russian weapons in Southeast Asia after Vietnam.

Renowned Russia military expert Vyacheslav Tseluyko commented that if Russia gains a foothold in Myanmar, it has the potential to penetrate more of the Southeast Asia market including Laos, Indonesia, and even Bangladesh. Therefore, Myanmar can be a strategic market point for Russia, which is eyeing the Southeast Asia market.

As the dynamics of Myanmar's international relations changed along with its political transition, Russia will not easily give up its position in Myanmar after all those years of support for the country in its troubled times. While it is still unclear about the stance and policies of the new civilian government, Russia seemingly has thought of reinforcing its position in Myanmar by maintaining good ties with the Tatmadaw.

Alexander Fomin has said there is good potential for development in military relations and military technical cooperation between the two countries. Currently, Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing is on an official visit to Russia. We'll have to wait and see how this visit will unlock new potential in military cooperation between two countries.

Ko Ye is the executive director of the Yangon-based Tagaung Institute of Political Studies, a civil society organization researching civil-military relations and security sector in Myanmar's transition process.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

The post Will Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing's Russia Visit Unlock More Military Cooperation? appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

The Irrawaddy Business Roundup

Posted: 23 Jun 2017 09:49 PM PDT

Sanctions Off the Books, Some Restrictions Remain

The US Department of the Treasury removed sanctions regulations against Myanmar from the code of federal regulations on June 16 in a final move by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) to culminate actions taken by the Obama administration in October of last year.

However US financial institutions must still undertake enhanced due diligence when processing financial transactions involving Myanmar because it remains a "jurisdiction of primary money laundering concern" pursuant to section 311 of the USA PATRIOT Act, the legal website Lexology noted.

Myanmar businesspersons were removed from the Specially Designated Nationals list last October. But Americans doing business in Myanmar should continue to screen counterparties because they could be designated under other sanctions regimes such as North Korea and narcotics trafficking, according to the report.

Under America's Jade Act, a non-disclosed list of Myanmar military officials and "any other Burmese persons who provide substantial economic and political support" to the military are still subject to a visa ban, and the US Department of State's Directorate of Defense Controls continues to maintain a policy to deny exports of defense articles and services to Myanmar.

Lexology reported that Americans were still "encouraged to remain vigilant when conducting legal business with and in Myanmar due to remaining concerns about corruption, money laundering, and informal banking practices."

Nevertheless, the latest removal of regulations "represents another step in the improving US-Myanmar relations, recognizing Myanmar's democratic advancement, and welcoming it back into the community of nations," the report stated.

Bus Engines Ordered from China

Myanmar has ordered thousands of bus engines from Chinese company Guangxi Yuchai Machinery, a subsidiary of China Yuchai International, the company announced.

Guangxi Yuchai Machinery received an initial order for 2,000 of its YC6G260N heavy-duty natural gas engines to power buses to be used in Yangon's public transportation system.

A further batch of 1,000 of the engines which are compliant with Euro V emission standards is expected to be ordered later, the statement said.

"This order coincides with the Chinese government's One Belt One Road initiative to increase economic cooperation between China and European and Asian countries," it added.

Guangxi Yuchai Machinery has headquarters in Yulin, Guangxi Province and is a leading engine manufacturer in China, making a wide variety of light-, medium- and heavy-duty engines for trucks, buses, passenger vehicles, construction equipment and marine and agriculture applications. It was founded in 1951 and sold 320,424 engines in 2016, according to its website.

Logistics Firm Wins Start-Up Competition

Yangon-based logistics startup Kargo won the Myanmar leg of a global competition for early startups organized on June 21 in the commercial capital. The competition was organized by Seedstars World, a Swiss operation that promotes start-ups in emerging markets.

Kargo will head to Switzerland in April next year to compete with other startups from around 80 countries for a chance to receive up to $1 million in equity investment.

The Yangon firm also received a six-digit investment a month ago from Singapore-based venture capital firm Vulpes Investment Management, DealStreet Asia reported.

Eight startups from Myanmar participated in the pitching session for Seedstars World in Yangon, including agri-mobile app Greenovator; healthcare service Doctor On Call; Agtrade, a market-matching platform for farmers, brokers and traders and Amyanpoh, a delivery solution for e-commerce, DealStreet reported.

Kargo operates a fleet of independent truck drivers and companies for on-demand delivery around the country, with services offered in Yangon, Mandalay, Taunggyi, Pathein, Pyay and Lashio.

Seedstars World works closely with Omidyar Network, AYA Bank, Ooredoo and others in Myanmar. It hopes to establish a long-term presence in the country, according to DealStreet.

Cranes Ordered for Thilawa Port

The Myanmar Port Authority has awarded contracts to a Japanese company for two ship-to-shore cranes and six rubber-tire gantry cranes for a new container terminal being constructed at Thilawa Port, a trade website reported.

The terminal is expected to be completed in the autumn of 2018 and will be able to handle more and larger ships than congested Yangon port, according to the report.

Japan-based Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding Co. won the US$27.3 million contract for the cranes which are due to be delivered late next year.

Thilawa is Myanmar's first special economic zone and formally opened for business in September 2015 as a large-scale joint project between Myanmar and Japan.

Japan's Toyo Construction Co. and JFE Engineering Corporation were awarded contracts early last year to build an 18-hectare container terminal at Thilawa, which is set to become one of the country's key logistics hubs.

Nippon Express, Japan's largest international freight forwarder, opened a new warehouse at the economic zone on June 1.

Global Logistics Firm Opens Office

International logistics and supply chain management firm CEVA has opened a dedicated office in Yangon.

CEVA is owned by US-based venture capitalists Apollo Management, according to its website, and employs 41,000 people in operations all over the world.

The company is offering a full spectrum of air and ocean freight services from Myanmar, where it has also operated freight management services through a partner for five years.

Myanmar has strong growth potential, said CEVA's Mekong area manager Bruno Plantaz.

"In the past, the country infrastructure has always been a limiting and inhibiting factor, but with our global network and more importantly, our experience in emerging markets, especially in the region, we are confident that with our own office and robust IT offerings we can deliver options and solutions to the market and at the same time grow our commercial footprint," Plantaz said in a company release.

China Freezes Myanmar Traders' Accounts

Myanmar authorities were negotiating last week to reopen more than 300 bank accounts of Myanmar nationals frozen by banks in Shweli, Yunnan Province, China, The Irrawaddy reported.

The Myanmar authorities informed Chinese officials that the accounts belonged to Myanmar traders who were not involved in money laundering, gambling or trafficking.

Chinese bank officials said they were still checking the accounts, a Myanmar representative said.

The Chinese embassy in Yangon issued a statement on Monday saying the move was a crackdown on crime and illegal trade, but promised to free legitimate accounts and protect long-term stability with Myanmar. More than a hundred people held a protest march against the closures in Shweli on Friday.

In other media reports, traders said the accounts were mainly held by traders exporting rice and sugar. China is trying to discourage sugar imports and sugar smuggling as domestic sugar mills are facing competition from cheap imports, some reports suggested.

The post The Irrawaddy Business Roundup appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

This Week in Parliament (June 19-23)

Posted: 23 Jun 2017 09:35 PM PDT

Monday (June 19)

In the Lower and Upper Houses, lawmakers discussed regional development tasks in their respective constituencies. The Lower House also discussed the issue of land confiscation.

Tuesday (June 20)

Regarding the government's policy of mid-term debt management until the 2019-20 fiscal year, Deputy Minister for Planning and Finance U Maung Maung Win told the Union Parliament that the government would seek low-interest loans and development policy loans for projects and plans that would support the country's economic policies. As of December 31, Myanmar was nearly US$9 billion in debt, required to pay back US$100-700 million annually until 2053, according to the minister.

Wednesday (June 21)

Lawmaker Daw Khin Sithu of Loikaw Township lamented in the Lower House that children born to Myanmar citizens illegally working in foreign countries are losing their rights, and asked if the government would grant such children Myanmar citizenship.

Union minister for labor, immigration and population U Thein Swe said that the government would grant such children Myanmar citizenship if birth proof can be submitted. He added that his ministry was adopting plans and strategies to issue birth certificates in these cases.

The Parliament approved the proposal of Lewe Township lawmaker U Myo Zaw Oo which urged the Union government to provide crop insurance for farmers across the country.

In the Upper House, U Kyaw Kyaw of Arakan State Constituency (4) urged the government to release all political prisoners behind bars. Deputy Minister Maj-Gen Aung Soe said the government has still no plan to define the terms "political prisoner" and "political offense."

Thursday (June 22)

Lower House lawmakers debated Yekyi Township lawmaker U San Shwe Win's proposal encouraging the Union government to provide universal health coverage for citizens of the country.

In Upper House, regarding the 5 percent taxation on mobile top-ups, Deputy Minister for Planning and Finance U Maung Maung Win said that the government spent 7.455 billion kyats in revenue on the education sector in the 2016-17 fiscal year. The Education Ministry currently provides cash assistance for outstanding graduates and university students with its own funds, and has no plans for the time being to set up a separate fund from mobile top-up taxation to assist impoverished students.

 Friday (June 23)

The Lower House documented Paung Township lawmaker Mi Kon Chan's proposal urging the Union government to review long-term projects permitted under successive government to determine if they are against the interests of people.

Dr. Kyaw Ngwe of Magwe Constituency (10) asked in the Upper House of Parliament whether the government would increase the meal and uniform allowances for midwives, which currently amounts to less than 100 kyats per month. Union minister for health and sports, Dr. Myint Htwe, said that the Union government had already agreed to increase meal allowances to 20,000 kyats per month and uniform allowances to 20,000 kyats per year.

The post This Week in Parliament (June 19-23) appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Dateline Irrawaddy: Govt ‘Has Done Nothing’ for Independent Ethnic Media

Posted: 23 Jun 2017 09:04 PM PDT

Ye Ni: Welcome to Dateline Irrawaddy! The role of ethnic media is important in Myanmar, which is a multiethnic country. This week, founder and chief editor of Arakanese media Narinjara News Agency U Khaing Myat Kyaw and ethnic Kachin reporter Ma Nan Lwin Pwint of The Irrawaddy join me to discuss ethnic media. I'm Irrawaddy Burmese editor Ye Ni.

According to the Information Ministry, there are over 885 publications published in ethnic languages either by government agencies or by independent media. Your Narinjara News Agency operated in exile in Bangladesh during the military regime, and returned to Myanmar after private media was allowed under the U Thein Sein government, and it continues operation under the civilian government led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. How has your news agency struggled and what challenges has it faced, and is facing, through the past and at present?

Khaing Myat Kyaw: Our news agency was established in Bangladesh's Dhaka in 2001. At that time, we had enormous difficulties in gathering news because there was no phone or internet in Burma. [Reporters] had to come and report in person. We operated our news agency based on such news reports. So, we had real difficulties in gathering news while we were in exile. We were allowed to come back to Myanmar in 2014 under President U Thein Sein's government. Then, it was a lot easier to do reporting in comparison to the past because there is much greater access to internet and mobile phones in Myanmar. Plus, people have more appreciation for the role of media compared to the past. As they understood the benefits brought by the media, they started to cooperate. So, at present, regarding the gathering of news, we can gather it swiftly and contact and interview sources easily. Therefore, it has been easier and more convenient to gather and publish news compared to the past.

YN: Where is your news agency headquartered? Sittwe or Yangon? Is it online-only media or does it publish a journal?

KMK: We don't have a printing press in Sittwe. We publish a journal. So, we have to run an office in Yangon and distribute journals to Arakan State. We also run a weekly TV program called Ethnic Language TV in cooperation with DVB. We also run online media. We have website and a Facebook page. It is more convenient to operate in Yangon because of greater access to electricity here than in Sittwe. Previously, Sittwe did not have access to electricity at all. It has just been one or two years that it has had access to electricity. As you know, as we need to publish news reports quickly, and make sure the news reports reach the people swiftly, we are headquartered in Yangon, which has convenient communications. And we also run a liaison office in Sittwe and have reporters in different places. They gather news and send it to us by phone or email.  So, though we're headquartered in Yangon, we gather news by all means, not only by phone, but also in person and by email, and internet.

YN: As you said, [ethnic areas] don't have electricity like major towns, and in some areas, the educational standards are much lower than those in major towns. You have to gather reporters to run a media outlet. So, Ma Nan Lwin Hnin Pwint, how are reporters gathered in remote towns? And what are the challenges for those wishing to become journalists?

Nan Lwin Hnin Pwint: There are various conflict issues, particularly in Kachin State, such as violations of human rights, and displacement from clashes. So, there is a greater need for reporters in order to make those voices heard. There are many youth [in Kachin State] who want to be journalists to reveal the truth and write about the plight of their people. Their difficulty lies in choosing media outlets to work in. Some of my friends gather those wishing to become journalists and organize basic journalism trainings with the assistance of religious leaders, and they are then trained by senior journalists. It is however quite hard for them to work in ethnic media outlets. There are various challenges both in terms of safety and pay for those working as journalists in ethnic areas. And compared to big news agencies in Yangon, media outlets in ethnic areas cannot take responsibility for the safety of their reporters. But again, if ethnic reporters come to work in Yangon, they have to engage with new people, as it is not their hometown, and have to try harder than others. For instance, they have to rent a house and so on. So, it is hard for ethnic people to pursue journalism careers.

YN: Most of the ethnic regions are experiencing conflicts. So how does the media in ethnic regions operate amid the conflicts between the Burma Army and ethnic armed groups, between ethnic armed organizations themselves and between different ethnic groups?

NLHP: I have a friend, and when clashes recurred in 2011 in Kachin State, there were many people who got into trouble, and he wanted to help them. He decided to help as a reporter since it is difficult for reporters from Yangon to come and gather news in Kachin State because of the language barrier and unfamiliarity with the area. So, he sought the funds from organizations, and established Kachinwaves media. Almost six years after he established it, he still finds it difficult to identify himself as a reporter in conflict zones. Since he lives in the same area, when he comes back from conflict zones and writes reports, he is the only person who has to take responsibility for his report. There is no one who can protect him. Again, as he lives in Kachin [State] and is an ethnic Kachin, he is vulnerable to accusations. It is easy to accuse him of associating with ethnic armed groups and publishing misinformation. So, they have to consider their safety in making reports. Some of my Shan friends work as reporters in northern Shan State. But when they go to gather news from the Burma Army, they are accused of being the spies of ethnic armed groups. In some cases, if reporters get along with ethnic armed groups and it is easy to get news from them, the Burma Army will brand them as propagandists. In some cases, the army threatens to kill the reporters if they come, saying that they are spies.

YN: Ko Khaing Myat Kyaw, Arakan State is a sensitive area. So, what are the difficulties you face in reporting there?

KMK: Yes, there are also clashes in Arakan State between the Arakan Army (AA) and the Tatmadaw. But in covering those clashes, we can only get statements released by AA. And we have to make reports based on those statements. We could never phone and interview the Tatmadaw. So, anyway, those reports are not impartial, but biased. We have to refer to the sources of AA and the reports are therefore one-sided, and Tatmadaw accuses us of being biased toward the rebels. In fact, we don't want to be like that. We do want to make balanced reporting. But we could never ever phone and interview Tatmadaw. So, the Tatmadaw needs to release the correct information in remote areas, especially in ethnic areas. We also have difficulties in gathering news, and we can't get any information from the Arakan State government. As you said, Arakan State is a sensitive area with various problems. Therefore, misinformation can fuel the problems. In particular, no one [in state government] has ever answered about problems in Buthidaung and Maungdaw townships. And in case of storm, we need to inform the public immediately. But we could ask no one about the storm Mora. If we have to wait two or three days in such cases, the information will become useless. So, the problem is we have enormous difficulty with our right to information.

YN: The market for ethnic media is small in ethnic regions. And the spending power of ethnic media is also very limited. So, how do they survive?

KMK: The incumbent government said it would promote ethnic media and ethnic languages and culture. But it has only done so for those working in the ministries. For example, it provided cultural assistance for ethnic people working in [the state-run] MRTV and so on. But until today, the government has done nothing for independent [ethnic] news agencies. The former information minister U Ye Htut however discussed and reached some agreements with us for the development of ethnic languages. But the incumbent government still can't materialize it—it will depend on the government's policy. Again, most of the ethnic media have to rely on funds of international NGOs because we don't have the market. We don't have a market in which we can sell between 5,000 to 10,000 copies of newspapers. And we don't get advertisements either. So, every [ethnic] journal is making a loss. So, if we didn't get international assistance, it would be quite hard for ethnic media to survive.

NLHP: People in ethnic areas tend to have greater trust in their local ethnic media because of the language and contact. For example, Kachin people have greater trust in publications published in Kachin language as they can read it themselves. Publications from Yangon can't arrive in a timely way because of poor transportation, and therefore there is a need for the development of ethnic media.  In some western countries, the governments impose taxes related to radio and television, and share it with the media. If the government would do this and help ethnic media, they would be able to operate even if they don't get funds from international organizations.

KMK: Another thing is there is no ethnic radio station or TV channels owned by ethnicities. This is a big gap, I think. So, the government should ensure there are ethnic language-speaking TV channels in ethnic regions like Shan, Chin, Arakan and Mon. It also needs to encourage and enable ethnicities to operate community radio including FM. Only then, will there be a swifter flow of information, and the gap between us will be reduced.

YN: Thank you both for your contributions!

The post Dateline Irrawaddy: Govt 'Has Done Nothing' for Independent Ethnic Media appeared first on The Irrawaddy.
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