Russian support for the ruling junta in Myanmar (Burma) is unacceptable and destabilizing, and Russian arms sales are fueling a conflict that has become a disaster for Myanmar, State Department adviser Derek Cholle said Thursday.
The United States is concerned about the broad implications of the escalating crisis in Myanmar following the 2021 coup and the junta’s growing ties to Russia, which may seek to establish military bases in the country, Cholle told Reuters.
“Everyone in contact with Moscow should tell him that their continued military support for the junta is unacceptable. It will destabilize the situation,” he said in an interview during a trip to Southeast Asia. “And that’s not just a problem for Myanmar, it’s a problem for the whole region.”
Activists and UN experts have condemned Russia, which was the first of the major powers to declare its support for the junta, as well as China for supplying arms to the army, which officials of the UN accuse of systematic atrocities against civilians.
“Over the past few years, I have seen military cooperation that is only growing,” Chollet said. “Now I am seriously concerned about the supply of arms to Myanmar from Russia.”
Cholle said the Biden administration sees the crisis in Myanmar as “the most pressing threat” in Southeast Asia, including instability, cross-border crime and drug trafficking.
He stressed that the United States supports the diplomatic efforts of Southeast Asian countries in relation to the situation in Myanmar and cooperates with these countries to create a democratic opposition.
“We believe that other countries should do the same … that they should cooperate,” the State Department adviser said, adding that countries in the region were expressing concern over tensions between the United States and the United States. China.
“We intend to approach these relationships responsibly, we want to mark the limits of what is acceptable in areas where we have disagreements,” Chollet explained. “We are not afraid of competition… There will be areas of the relationship that will be contentious because we will fundamentally disagree, such as the future of Taiwan.”
