The military department of Myanmar seeks to strengthen its relations with the Russian military wing. This comes after the Myanmar military staged a coup in the country and arrested the nation’s political leaders. Post-coup reactions and actions from the public clearly showed that the coup was irrational, and the citizens carried out countrywide protests. Many youths in the country revolted against the military’s actions and condemned the arrest of their leaders. This is an unlikely event, especially in a country where the military claimed that the political leaders were abusing their power and had to free people from the clutches of abuse.
Myanmar is now looking into collaborating with the Russian military. Russia under president Vladamir Putin has gained more powerful military prowess and has ranked among the top countries in terms of trained military personnel and tactics. Security and military services in Russia such as The Federal Security Service (formerly KBG), Investigative Committee of Russia, and the Russian government’s Foreign Intelligence are rated among the tactical organisations in the world. Even the United States of America’s security organisations such as the CIA, NSA, NATO and FBI recognise Russia as a military superpower.
Hence, the commander-in-chief of Mynamar, Min Aung Hlaing, sought to work with the Russian army. After engineering the coup and successful toppling the Myanmar government, Min Aung Hlaing now faces the challenge of persuading the citizens to his side. He has been facing insults from his countrymates, but he defends his stance and argues that he was liberating them from tyrants who were leading them astray while abusing powers entitled to them. The coup d’état on 1 February 2021 in Myanmar came as a big shock to the citizens who have uttered that the military had no right or reason to do that. They have shunned Min Aung Hlaing for being the tyrant tormenting their innocent political leaders by putting them in jail and grabbing the throne from them.
Last week, commander-in-chief Min Aung Hlaing was invited to attend an international military conference in Moscow, Russia [Source]. He is regarded as part of the Myanmar leadership since the elections have not been yet held. Together with his counterparts, they have highlighted that they will turn over the reigns as the country head for polls.
He met with the Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu. In a recorded interview done by Min Aung Hlaing after the meeting [Source], he told the press that Myanmar and Russia worked together. They met and were discussing ways in which they could expand their works. Initially, the partnership was designed so that it could be expandable while incorporating new entities. Hlaing was grateful for the assistance they got from Russia, which has solidified their military department and enabled them to achieve their set objectives. The Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu noted that Myanmar is a viable ally in Southeast Asia and Asia. He further explained that Myanmar is a strategic counterpart that has proven its skills over time.
This shows that those two military figures are willing to work together to expand their military collaboration and become strong allies that might aid each other’s needs in the near future. No reports were recorded of the Russian Defence minister’s comments about the current situation in Myanmar where the citizens are fighting the government and vice versa. However, the minister seemed glad to agree on the collaborative work with a potentially powerful and resourceful ally who might become helpful to Russia someday. The Myanmar commander-in-chief was also happy that he would get more assistance from a superpower country with a loyal army and become allies.
