Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
Myanmar junta troops take part in the Armed Forces Day parade in Naypyitaw in March 2023. / AFP
The number of Singapore-based entities known to have supplied the Myanmar junta’s military has risen to 138 with the addition of 91 entities newly identified by the city state’s government with help from the UN’s Special Rapporteur on Myanmar, Singapore’s foreign minister said on Monday. Responding to questions from lawmakers, Vivian Balakrishnan said his government was still looking into a report by Special Rapporteur Tom Andrews that identified Singapore as a major source of military-related materials for the Myanmar junta.
According to written replies from Balakrishnan to parliamentary questions from MPs Vikram Nair and Dennis Tan, the Singapore government has identified another 91 entities, adding to an initial list of 47 revealed earlier by Andrews. This number is just an interim update to the figure, Balakrishnan said, as investigations are ongoing.
In a transcript of the questions and replies published on the Singapore Foreign Ministry’s website, Nair asked the minister whether the government had investigated the allegations, and whether any action was being taken. Tan asked how many Singapore-based companies had been identified as being involved in the sale of materials for military-related uses in Myanmar, how many of these companies the government had taken action against, and what actions had been taken. He also asked how many of the cases involved financing by Singapore-based banks, and what actions had been taken or would be taken against such banks.
Among the newly identified entities, nine are no longer registered with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority, which means they can no longer carry on business or operate as legal entities in Singapore.
“This includes entities that were allegedly involved in the transfer of components and spare parts for fighter aircraft, equipment for the Myanmar Navy, as well as radios, research and equipment for electronic warfare,” said the Singaporean foreign minister.
He said that as Myanmar is on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) blacklist, financial institutions in Singapore have also been applying enhanced due diligence for Myanmar-linked customers and transactions that present higher risks.
The FATF is an intergovernmental watchdog organization that aims to prevent global money laundering and terrorist financing. In October last year, it added Myanmar to its list of high-risk jurisdictions with significant deficiencies in countering money laundering, terrorist financing and financing of the proliferation of nuclear, chemical or biological weapons.
In a report published in May, Andrews documented that at least US$1 billion worth of weapons, dual-use technology and materials used to manufacture weapons were imported by the Myanmar military junta from Feb. 1, 2021—the day it launched its coup—to December 2022.
It identified the sources of trade in arms and related materials to the Myanmar military over a two-year period, finding that entities in the Russian Federation made US$406 million worth of trades, and that entities—including state-owned ones—in China made US$267 million worth.
The report also documents US$28 million in arms transfers from Thai-based entities to the Myanmar military since the coup. India-based entities have supplied US$51 million worth of arms and related materials to the junta’s military, it states.
Balakrishnan said the Singapore government is looking into specific details of the US$254 million worth of arms and related goods that, according to Andrews’ report, were shipped through Singapore-based entities to the Myanmar military.
“We will continue to work closely and constructively with Mr. Andrews to seek specific, verifiable, and where possible court admissible information to advance our investigations,” he said.
The Singapore government has not imposed a general trade embargo on Myanmar. Last year, Singapore’s total bilateral trade with Myanmar amounted to $5.8 billion Singapore dollars (US$4.3 billion).
The foreign minister reiterated that the Singapore government remains committed to implementing its policy of preventing the transfer of arms and dual-use items assessed to have potential military application to Myanmar, where there is a serious risk that they will be used to inflict violence against unarmed civilians.
“We will not hesitate to take action against any individual or entity which contravenes this,” he said.
