Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
Min Aung Hlaing and delegation look around the facilities of Diamond Aircraft Industries in Vienna, Austria on April 24, 2017. / Myawaddy
Austria-based Diamond Aircraft Industries, an aviation company under the Diamond Group, provided the Myanmar military with components to assemble DART-450 surveillance aircraft and then trained key military personnel to produce and use the machines, in what appears to be a flagrant contravention of restrictive measures imposed by the European Union.
Under the EU arms embargo on Myanmar, in force during the project period, it is illegal to provide arms, dual use goods, and equipment used for internal repression to Myanmar, in addition to restrictions on military training and military cooperation.
Based on open-source research and leaked classified documents, Justice For Myanmar (JFM), a rights watchdog, has discovered that Diamond Aircraft Industries also trained Myanmar military personnel, including engineers and pilots from the air force and Tatmadaw Heavy Industry No. 10, to use the planes, JFM said in a statement released on June 12. “Tatmadaw” is a commonly used name for the Myanmar military.
The Myanmar military began assembling the aircraft at the Shante air force base in Meiktila in Mandalay Region, central Myanmar in 2019 and the deal for local assembly of the aircraft was likely to have been cemented when Myanmar military and junta chief Min Aung Hlaing visited Austria in 2017.
While the DART-450 can be considered a dual-use good, in the case of the DART-450 project in Myanmar, the use is clearly not civilian and would therefore be illegal under the EU measures. The aircraft is primarily intended for pilot training and aerial reconnaissance missions.
Diamond Aircraft Industries was acquired by the Chinese company Wanfeng Aviation Industry in December 2017 via its UK subsidiary, Wanfeng (UK) Aviation Co. Ltd. Wanfeng Aviation Industry is owned by a Shenzhen-listed company, Zhejiang Wanfeng Auto Wheel Company Limited, which is linked to Wanfeng Auto Holding Group.
Since the military’s illegal coup attempt, the junta has increasingly used the air force for reconnaissance and to launch indiscriminate air strikes as a key part of its campaign of terror.
JFM pointed out that the DART-450 project has so far provided capabilities in aircraft production to the Myanmar military and if the project continues, the watchdog said, “it would support the Myanmar military’s pilot training, aerial intelligence gathering and could be used in aerial attacks.”
Based on a leaked internal memo from the Commander-in-Chief (Air) dated Nov. 8, 2017, JFM exposed that Miya Win International Company Limited, a Myanmar-based arms broker, is a key player between Diamond Aircraft Industries and the Myanmar military.
The memo was addressed to the Myanmar Army’s Office of the Directorate of Procurement, and it confirms that a delegation from Miya Win and a senior military officer were set to hold a meeting regarding Diamond Aircraft Industries.
The most recent financial statements of Diamond Aircraft Industries, for the year ending Dec. 31, 2021, include a provision for Miya Win of 168,973 euros (about US$182,400), according to an investigative report by Profil, a German-language news magazine based in Vienna.
Miya Win International has also been procuring unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) from the Austrian company Schiebel Corporation and received parts following the Myanmar military’s attempted coup in February 2021, according to JFM.
Miya Win International has been sanctioned by the UK and US, as it is responsible for brokering deals for the supply and upkeep of aircraft for the Myanmar air force. In addition, it contributed to the Myanmar military in 2017 at two fundraising events held by Min Aung Hlaing to support the military’s genocide against the Rohingya.
On April 21, 2022, over a year after the Myanmar military’s illegal attempted coup, the Council of the EU decided to renew its restrictions on supplying the Myanmar military.
Since its attempted coup in February 2021, the junta’s military has been waging a campaign of terror against the people of Myanmar, committing deliberate killings, arbitrary arrests, indiscriminate air strikes and shelling, sexual violence and torture.
To date, the junta’s military has killed more than 3,600 people, arbitrarily arrested over 23,000 and displaced more than 1.5 million, according to figures from the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.
JFM called for immediate action by Austrian authorities to suspend exports and license production agreements with Miya Win International and the Myanmar military and to investigate and take action against Diamond Aircraft Industries and other Austrian businesses dealing with these entities.
“We further urge the German, Dutch, Swedish, Swiss and US governments to investigate any possible arms embargo breaches by companies in their territory that have been involved in the Myanmar military’s DART-450 project and to take action,” said JFM.
The rights group has also called for the UK authorities to investigate Wanfeng (UK) Aviation, which may be in breach of UK sanctions in relation to its subsidiary, Diamond Aircraft Industries. It has also urged the EU and its allies to impose sanctions on Miya Win International.