In response to a question in Parliament, the city-state’s Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan admitted that 91 local companies are involved in supplying various types of goods to the Burmese military despite the February 1 coup. 2021: “It is not part of the government’s policy to block legitimate trade with Myanmar.”
Singapore () – The military junta that has ruled Myanmar since the coup d’état on February 1, 2021 continues to benefit from trade relations with several countries, including Singapore, a central node in the flow of goods and capital for a large part of Asia. The one who made it clear that Singapore has not applied a strict embargo, as required internationally, was the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Vivian Balakrishnan, answering questions from members of Parliament.
Balakrishnan further confirmed that a further 91 Singapore-based companies have been identified as being involved in supplying various types of products to the Burmese armed forces, so far responsible for 3,500 deaths from the crackdown and 22,000 detainees, including almost the entire leadership. democracy in the country, including the Nobel Peace Prize winner, Aung San Suu Kyi, historical leader of the peaceful movement against the dictatorship. This is a surprising number of companies, adding to the 47 already named by the UN Special Rapporteur for Myanmar, Tom Andrews.
The government, through Balakrishnan, has promised to seek more information about the transactions, in particular to find out if there are links to the purchase or manufacture of weapons for the internal conflict. However, the minister confirmed that “it is not part of the government’s policy to block legitimate trade with Myanmar”, an exchange that last year amounted to 4.3 billion dollars. The proposed reason is that “if we did so, we would further slow down the development of that country and aggravate the suffering of the civilian population.”
At the bottom of the debate lies the difficult situation of Singapore within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), of which both countries are members, to curb repression and violence in Myanmar. Meanwhile, the Burmese regime continues to receive goods essential to its survival, often produced or traded by other member nations.
Along these lines was a recent report by Tom Andrews, who spoke of $254 million worth of goods leaving Singapore in the last two years and of what he described as “extensive” use of Singaporean banks by of arms dealers.
This is despite the Singapore authorities’ stated commitment to preventing the flow of arms into Myanmar and their “principles” against the use of lethal force against unarmed civilians.
Photo: Flickr / John
