Exclusive: Myanmar junta invites Russia to extract gems, minerals in active conflict areas

During a visit to Moscow last week by Myanmar junta chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, the regime proposed to extend privileges to Russian investors to mine precious stones and other resources in Myanmar, sources said.Top officials from the junta-backed Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI) were part of the Myanmar delegation to Russia, according to a businessman who was present and who asked to remain anonymous for his safety.At the Russia-Myanmar Economic Forum held in Moscow during the visit, UMFCCI chair Aye Win invited Russian companies to invest in mining projects in Mandalay and Sagaing regions as well as Kachin and Shan states, the businessman said. The UMFCCI has longstanding business ties with the military and military-owned enterprises.Speaking at the forum—which was also attended by Min Aung Hlaing, junta cabinet ministers, and Russia’s minister for economic development Maxim Gennadyevich Reshetnikov—Aye Win assured Russian business officials that licences would be issued for the extraction of minerals including jade, rubies, and sapphires at sites in Shan State; Hpakant, Kachin State; Hkamti, Ta Naing, and Moe Hnyin in Sagaing Region; and Mogok, Mandalay Region. The businessman pointed to these proposed mining sites on a map during the forum. A map used by the Myanmar delegation in Moscow to propose investment opportunities for Russian businesses in Myanmar mining sites (Source: Regime media) Hpakant is well-known as the centre of a billion-dollar jade industry, while Mogok is famous for producing rubies often regarded as the finest in the world. Other locations to which the participants at the forum referred, such as Hkamti and Ta Naing, are key regions for jade, amber, and sapphire production. However, the townships to which the Myanmar officials planned to draw Russian investment are nearly all in active war zones, with the military fighting against ethnic armed organisations and resistance groups for control. In the past year, the military regime has lost control over half the territory of Hpakant Township to forces led by the Kachin Independence Army, and Mogok is fully occupied by the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), a group that operates in and controls around a dozen towns in northern Shan State and Mandalay Region. The TNLA controls not only the ruby production hub of Mogok, Mandalay Region, but several key northern Shan State towns on routes vital for trade between China and Myanmar. https://myanmar-now.org/en/news/northern-shan-state-facing-squeeze-as-myanmar-junta-opponents-block-each-others-trade/ Min Aung Hlaing, who sat at the head of the table alongside Russian and Myanmar officials, also made assurances to the Russian businessmen at the forum. According to a quote in a regime-controlled media outlet, the junta chief said, “Please don’t be too concerned about some of the current challenges we are facing—these are just temporary. I believe that through our joint efforts, we can overcome these difficulties together. What truly matters is the determination and commitment to take action. That is why I would like to extend a warm welcome to our Russian friends, citizens, and businesspeople.” Analysts have suggested the junta may be trying to draw Russia deeper into Myanmar’s conflict, and the junta’s invitation to Russian businesses to invest in Myanmar may be a sign of distress over both economic and security matters from the ongoing war. Participants in the junta delegation notably did not propose Rakhine State in western Myanmar as a potential area of interest for Russian investors. Rakhine State, on Myanmar’s Bay of Bengal coast, is home to several offshore oil and gas extraction projects backed by significant investment from China. Myanmar officials may have intended to avoid straining the junta’s relations with China, which has exerted pressure on anti-junta ethnic armed groups in the country to cease hostilities against the Naypyitaw regime. In Rakhine, the Arakan Army, yet another ethnic armed group, has already taken control of most of the township-level administrative centres and is continuing its efforts to drive the military out of the remaining towns, outposts, and naval bases in the state. On his flight back from Russia, the junta chief reiterated plans to focus on mining and resource extraction while alluding to Russia as a strategic player on the global stage. “I know that Russia is the country that is best equipped to assist us in the near term,” he said in video interviews with a media network that owns various state-owned and pro-military outlets.He also justified his trip to Russia in an interview with the state-owned Global New Light of Myanmar. “It has been 77 years since we gained our independence. We have faced numerous conflicts. We have plenty of natural resources, including human resources,” he said. “For this, when we are looking for prospects of cooperation, Russia is one of the countries that we see as having the potential for collaboration. It’s not just Russia; there are many countries. However, I know that Russia is the country that can take action the quickest. Therefore, I went to Russia.”The leaders of ethnic armed organisations in Myanmar have not officially responded to the junta’s invitation to Russian businesses in areas where they claim control. However, the TNLA’s spokesperson Lway Yay Oo said that the group would consider conferring mining licenses to Russian businesses that apply for them, as long as their activities do not serve to benefit the Myanmar junta. https://myanmar-now.org/en/news/russia-cannot-substantially-change-the-dynamic-of-the-liberation-struggle-a-conversation-with-igor-blazevic/

Exclusive: Myanmar junta invites Russia to extract gems, minerals in active conflict areas

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