Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
Myanmar regime troops take part in a parade to mark the country's 78th Armed Forces Day in Naypyidaw on March 27, 2023. / AFP
Swedish arms are still being exported to Myanmar’s military regime via Indian arms sales despite an EU arms embargo, according to Justice for Myanmar (JFM).
An investigation by the rights watchdog discovered that the Indian firm Sandeep Metalcraft Private Ltd is supplying Myanmar’s military with FFV-447 projectile fuzes designed for use with Swedish 84 mm Carl Gustaf recoilless rifles.
JFM found that one shipment of FFV-447 fuzes was sent to Myanmar in 2019 and a second shipment likely delivered after the Myanmar military’s attempted coup, directly supporting its campaign of terror. Sandeep Metalcraft still advertises Carl Gustaf fuzes on its website.
On 29 March, Sweden’s Foreign Minister Tobias Billström responded to a question from member of parliament Håkan Svenneling, who asked what measures the Swedish government had taken to prevent the re-export of weapons produced under Swedish license in India. The question followed a JFM investigation that found that some of the arms and associated components sold by India to the Myanmar military had Swedish designs, including the FFV-447 fuzes, which are developed and produced by Saab Group.
As an EU member state, Sweden is banned from sale or transfer of arms and dual-use items and technologies to the Myanmar military.
Foreign Minister Billström confirmed that Sweden had transferred Carl Gustaf recoilless rifles to India and that some of these rifles have been diverted from India to Myanmar.
He said this diversion was subject to an official investigation by Sweden’s Inspectorate of Strategic Products (ISP) in 2012. ISP concluded that India was respecting its commitments to not re-export weapons manufactured under Swedish license and that the Indian government had taken sufficient measures to reduce the risk of diversion. However, the investigation concluded in 2012.
JFM said the information it had uncovered indicates that key components for ammunition for Carl Gustaf recoilless rifles have once again been diverted from India to Myanmar. And this casts doubt on the Indian government’s willingness to comply with end-user commitments and take appropriate measures to reduce the risk of diversion, it said.
JFM said it was deeply concerned about Sweden’s apparent ties to the supply of weapons to Myanmar’s military, which is intensifying its campaign of indiscriminate attacks on civilians.
“We demand that the ISP evaluation leading to a decision to grant Saab the right to establish an M4 manufacturing plant in India be made public in light of India’s well-known track record of exporting conventional arms, ammunition, parts and components to Myanmar, including from Swedish designed weapons,” said JFM spokesperson Yadanar Maung.
India was the third-largest supplier of weapons to Myanmar for the years 2017 to 2021, accounting for 17 percent of Myanmar’s arms imports after China (36 percent) and Russia (27 percent), according to data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
In September 2022, Saab announced it was setting up a production facility in India for its Carl-Gustaf M4 shoulder-fired weapon system. Saab FFV India is being established as a new company to make the M4 rocket launchers for the Indian military, as well as parts of other weapons platforms for foreign states.
JFM said this move was particularly alarming in light of India’s increasing military cooperation with the Myanmar military after its campaign of genocide against the Rohingya in 2017.
In July 2019, India and Myanmar signed a memorandum of understanding to increase defense cooperation, and Delhi has continued to support the Myanmar military following its 2021 coup.
India continued to export military hardware, including 122 mm barrels for howitzers, to the Myanmar junta as late as October 2022. The manufacturer of these barrels is Yantra India Ltd, a state-owned public sector company associated with the Indian Ministry of Defense.
Yantra India Ltd’s ordnance factory in Ambajhari, Maharashtra currently produces 84 mm mark-III FFV 551 Carl Gustaf ammunition. The FFV551 is a high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) round and a rocket-assisted projectile.
JFM called on the Swedish government to take urgent action to prevent further diversion of arms by suspending export and production agreements with Indian arms manufacturers, citing Delhi’s blatant disregard for the Wassenaar Arrangement on arms transfers, and international humanitarian law.
“The ISP must fully investigate how components of Swedish light arms and their ammunition are still being exported from India to Myanmar, including from Sandeep Metalcraft, and ensure that Sweden abides by the EU arms embargo, which prohibits Sweden from transferring arms and dual-use goods to the Myanmar military,” said JFM’s spokesperson.