Thailand considers taking steps to halt Myanmar's efforts to acquire weapons

Thailand’s commercial banks, regulators and anti-money laundering bureau are considering measures to prevent Myanmar from acquiring weapons through the Thai banking system, a Thai lawmaker said in a meeting with a UN special rapporteur.

Tom Andrews, special rapporteur for human rights in Myanmar, said in a report last month that Thailand had become the richest country in Myanmar. main supplier He called on financial institutions to do more to prevent the Burmese junta from acquiring weapons.

Andrews, who appeared before a parliamentary security committee in Bangkok this week, called for action to end efforts to supply arms to the Myanmar junta, in line with a plan promoted by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) that calls for an end to violence as a first step toward peace.

“I urge this committee and the Thai government to take a clear and strong position opposing the transfer of dual-use weapons and technologies to Myanmar,” Andrews said during a hearing before the committee on Thursday.

In his report,The billion dollar business of death,“Andrews noted that Singapore had implemented a clear policy opposing the transfer of arms to Myanmar. As a result, exports of arms and related materiel from Singapore-registered entities using the formal banking system fell from nearly US$120 million in FY2022 to just over US$10 million in the following 12 months.

But Thailand, which has not taken an explicit policy position against arms transfers to Myanmar, has seen its arms exports from Thai-registered entities more than double over the same period, from just over $60 million to nearly $130 million, he added. He called on Thailand to conduct as thorough an investigation into the transfers as Singapore has conducted into its companies’ dealings.

“Singapore has unambiguously adopted this position… which reflects the UN General Assembly resolution of July 2021 which called on all UN member states to prevent the flow of arms to Myanmar,” he said.

Rangsiman Rome, head of the lower house’s security committee, said lawmakers agreed with the report and would consider what action to take.

“We have no argument against the report. Then we will have to have measures, an action plan,” Rangsiman said, adding that the relevant organisations would report to the committee in 30 days.

Looking for Singapore

Andrews said five Thai banks and Thailand-based companies were helping the Burmese junta obtain weapons, dual-technology items and jet fuel, enabling its armed forces to commit atrocities against the population.

He added, however, that he had found no evidence that the Thai government was involved in or knew about the transactions or that Thai banks were aware of them.

“Thai banks may not have been aware of the nature of these transactions, but now they are and the question is what can be done and what will be done,” he said.

Representatives from Thailand’s central bank, the anti-money laundering bureau and commercial banks named in the report were present at the three-hour session at parliament in Bangkok.

A Bank of Thailand representative said officials were working with banks and the anti-money laundering office to ensure enhanced due diligence was properly carried out.

“We will look at what Singapore has used to see how we can strengthen our criteria, measures and procedures,” a central bank official said.

The Thai Bankers Association said it lacked the means to investigate and monitor such irregularities beyond Thailand’s borders.

“If government security agencies tell us, we will stop the transactions,” said Pongsit Chaichatpornsuk, a representative of the association. “We do not support the purchase of arms by Myanmar or any other military government that violates human rights.”

Thailand, which shares a long border with Myanmar and hosts thousands of refugees fleeing the conflict, has tried to promote dialogue between Myanmar’s military rulers and opposition forces, but no progress has been made.