JFM welcomes US action to block the Myanmar junta’s access to jet fuel | B20 Summit Partners supplied arms and equipment to Myanmar military, including after coup attempt
JUSTICE FOR MYANMAR
Dear all,
Justice For Myanmar welcomes the US determination authorising sanctions against any company or individual that operates in the jet fuel sector of the Myanmar economy, which is an important step to dismantle the junta’s access to jet fuel.
See our press release online here and below.
Justice For Myanmar has also published a press release highlighting that official partners of the 2023 Business 20 (B20) Summit, which is the business dialogue forum of the Group of 20 (G20), have supplied arms and equipment to the Myanmar military, including since its illegal February 1, 2021 coup attempt.
See that press release online here and below.
Regards,
Justice For Myanmar
JFM welcomes US action to block the Myanmar junta’s access to jet fuel
Justice For Myanmar welcomes the US determination authorising sanctions against any company or individual that operates in the jet fuel sector of the Myanmar economy, including through “activities related to the importation, exportation, reexportation, sale, supply, or transport, directly or indirectly, of jet fuel”. This follows the US determination ordering sanctions against companies and individuals operating in the defence sector of the Myanmar economy under Executive Order 14014 on February 10, 2021.
The new determination is an important step to dismantle the junta’s access to jet fuel, and sends a clear message that companies involved in all stages of the junta’s jet fuel supply chain can face US sanctions.
This comes after a campaign from Myanmar and international civil society calling for countries to block the junta’s access to jet fuel, and is a response to the junta’s reliance on air strikes to wage its campaign of terror against the people.
We urge the US to follow up its determination with sanctions against companies enabling the junta’s access to jet fuel, including those in the shipping and insurance industries.
We further welcome sanctions against Khin Phyu Win, Zaw Min Tun, and three Singapore companies: Shoon Energy Pte Ltd and two of its subsidiaries: PEIA Pte Ltd (formerly Puma Energy Irrawaddy Aviation) and P.E.I Energy Pte Ltd (formerly Puma Energy Irrawaddy).
Shoon group of companies, formerly Asia Sun, is a key local partner of the Myanmar military junta and is involved in importing, storing, selling and delivering jet fuel to the military.
Asia Sun’s role in the Myanmar military’s jet fuel supply chain was detailed in the Amnesty International report, Deadly Cargo, with research contributed by Justice For Myanmar.
We note that the Big Four accounting firm Ernst & Young LLP is currently the listed auditor of two of the newly sanctioned Singapore businesses: PEIA Pte Ltd and P.E.I Energy Pte Ltd. We call on Ernst & Young to immediately cut ties with these businesses and any other companies involved in the supply of jet fuel to Myanmar.
The sanctioning of more companies in Singapore highlights the failure of the Singapore government to block the use of its territory to support the Myanmar military junta. This week, 200 civil society organisations including Justice For Myanmar sent an open letter to Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Singapore’s Foreign Minister, urging him to introduce sanctions to prevent the direct and indirect transfer of arms, dual-use goods and technology to the Myanmar military, and to block the junta’s access to Singapore’s financial system through targeted sanctions, which it has imposed on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine.
Singapore should listen to the voices of Myanmar civil society and the recent recommendations of the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar by taking concrete action to help end the crisis in Myanmar.
We reiterate our call for coordinated sanctions on the junta controlled Myanma Petrochemical Enterprise (MPE) and the complete Shoon network. MPE controls the jet fuel supply chain, operates the Mann Refinery which produces jet fuel, and jointly owns National Energy Puma Aviation Services (NEPAS) with Shoon. NEPAS imports, stores and distributes jet fuel. Shoon Energy Thilawa Terminal Company Limited (formerly Puma Energy Asia Sun) operates a major fuel terminal and storage tanks. MPE, NEPAS and Shoon Energy Thilawa Terminal have not yet been sanctioned in any jurisdiction.
The illegal junta relies on its air force to wage a war of terror against the people of Myanmar. In the first two months of 2023 alone, Chin Human Rights Organization documented one airstrike per day in Chin State townships under martial law. A recent New York Times investigation details how the junta’s use of airstrikes against the people of Myanmar is worsening. The junta’s ability to carry out its indiscriminate airstrikes depends on its access to jet fuel.
By supporting the supply of jet fuel to the Myanmar military, businesses are complicit in the junta’s airstrikes, which amount to atrocity crimes, and all those responsible should be held accountable under international law.
Justice For Myanmar spokesperson Yadanar Maung says: “We welcome the latest significant steps the US has taken in issuing a sanctions determination against the jet fuel sector and in sanctioning key companies and individuals that supply jet fuel to the Myanmar military, and are complicit in its indiscriminate airstrikes.
“We urge the US to swiftly follow the determination by sanctioning international businesses in the junta’s jet fuel supply chain to help stop its ongoing airstrikes against the people of Myanmar.
“We urge the US, UK, EU, Canada and Australia to coordinate sanctions against companies and individuals in the junta’s jet fuel supply chain, along with arms brokers and entities that provide the junta with sources of revenue, including Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE).
“It is concerning that Shoon group has continued to operate in Singapore, along with many other companiessupporting the junta’s international crimes.
“Recent US and UK sanctions against Singapore companies should be a wake-up call to the Singaporen government to act in accordance with its international responsibilities and stop allowing Singaporean companies to provide the junta with access to arms, equipment, technology, jet fuel and funds.
“We note Singapore Foreign Minister Dr Vivian Balakrishnan's recent statement committing to a prohibition on the transfer of arms and dual use goods to Myanmar, but comprehensive action needs to be seen.”
More information:
See our November 2022 data on Shoon group of companies and its directors here, and read Amnesty International’s Deadly Cargo report, with research supported by Justice For Myanmar
B20 Summit Partners supplied arms and equipment to Myanmar military, including after coup attempt
Official partners of the 2023 Business 20 (B20) Summit, which is the business dialogue forum of the Group of 20 (G20), have supplied arms and equipment to the Myanmar military, including since its illegal February 1, 2021 coup attempt. India is hosting the 2023 B20 and G20 summits.
Justice For Myanmar calls on G20 member states to urge India to end all support for the Myanmar military junta and impose an arms embargo.
B20 Summit partners and participants should end all business with the junta and its conglomerates, in accordance with their international human rights responsibilities.
Among official B20 Summit partners are TATA, Larsen & Toubro and Bharat Forge, which have supplied arms and military equipment to Myanmar, and JFW, which has supported the construction of a military-owned port.
The Myanmar military has been producing trucks in the Magwe Region under an agreement TATA Motors originally signed with the military’s former junta in 2010. TATA Motors Limited is part of TATA Group and is publicly listed in India. The company manufactures civilian and military vehicles.
A 2019 article published by the war criminal Min Aung Hlaing details a visit to the Magwe Tatmadaw Heavy Industries plant and confirmed TATA’s continued involvement in truck manufacturing following the military’s genocide against the Rohingya.
Indian export records also show over US$13 million in TATA Motors’ shipments of vehicles and parts to Myanmar since August 2018, including to the Myanmar Army’s Directorate of Procurement, the military conglomerate Myanmar Economic Corporation (MEC) and TATA Motors’ private partner, Apex Greatest Industrial Company Limited.
Apex Greatest Industrial is an official service provider for TATA vehicles in Myanmar and is a current registered supplier of the Myanmar Army’s Directorate of Procurement.
Larsen & Toubro Ltd is a publicly listed Indian conglomerate that manufactures arms and has supplied the Myanmar military with LWT-XP torpedoes. Days after the military’s coup attempt, Larsen & Toubro sent on-board spares and an alarm monitoring system to the Myanmar military arms broker, Star Sapphire Group of Companies, via its Singapore subsidiary, according to Indian export records.
Bharat Forge Limited is a publicly listed Indian conglomerate that manufactures arms. Its subsidiary, Kalyani Strategic Systems, produces field guns.
A document leaked to Justice For Myanmar shows that a delegation from Bharat Forge and Kalyani met with the Myanmar military in October 2017, during its campaign of genocide against the Rohingya. The meeting was to discuss India’s Garuda 105mm light field gun.
News reports show that the Indian government was again in discussions with the Myanmar military as recently as October 2020 regarding the supply of 105mm field guns, which may involve Bharat Forge.
2019 Indian import and export records show that Kalyani Strategic Systems provided maintenance and spare parts for the Myanmar military’s T90 battle tank.
JSW Steel Limited is a publicly listed subsidiary of JSW Group. According to the company’s 2021-2022 integrated report, the Adani Ports & SEZ container terminal in Myanmar is a JSW Steel showcase project. The newly constructed port, which Adani Ports recently divested from, is a partnership with the military conglomerate MEC. Adani Ports has paid MEC over US$90 million in rent, land use and “land clearance” fees, and MEC will take ownership of the lucrative and strategic port and its assets at the end of the lease, including the materials supplied by JSW.
TATA Motors, Larsen & Toubro and Bharat Forge have all provided arms and equipment that have supported the Myanmar military’s international crimes. JSW has supported an infrastructure project that enriches a military conglomerate, benefiting war criminals and helping to finance the military’s atrocities.
TATA Motors and Larsen & Toubro are both on the Burma Campaign UK’s Dirty List of companies doing business with the Myanmar military.
Indian state and corporate complicity in the Myanmar military’s international crimes extends beyond the actions of B20 Summit partners. As Justice For Myanmar has previously exposed, Indian state-owned companies Bharat Electronics Limited and Yantra India Limited have supplied equipment and technology to the Myanmar military junta following its coup attempt.
Justice For Myanmar spokesperson Yadanar Maung says: “The Indian government’s support for the Myanmar military, with the complicity of some B20 Summit partners, should cast a shadow over the B20 and G20 summits and be a concern for participants and member states.
“By selling arms and equipment to the junta, the Indian government and companies are choosing to ignore the voices of the Myanmar people, UN resolutions and their responsibilities under international law.
“Justice For Myanmar calls for India to immediately impose an arms embargo on the Myanmar military and end its support for the junta.
“India’s allies in the G20 should use their leverage to pressure India to finally stop the flow of arms to the murderous junta.
“B20 partners and participants should cut all ties with the junta and its conglomerates.”
Justice For Myanmar is a covert group of activists using research, data visualisation and reporting to expose the companies and criminals profiting from brutality, war crimes and mass-scale suffering.
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