Myanmar’s military jet fuel supplies hit by latest US sanctions

Jet fuel for Myanmar’s armed forces has been targeted in the latest sanctions imposed by the United States on the country’s military regime and crony businesses.

The US Treasury Department said on Friday that it had imposed sanctions on two people and six entities connected to Myanmar’s military, who had enabled the regime’s continuing atrocities.

Three sanctioned entities work in Myanmar’s defence sector, specifically in the importation, storage and distribution of aviation fuel for the country’s armed forces, the US Treasury said in a statement.

The sanctioned firms included: Sia Sun Group, which was previously sanctioned by Canada and the European Union, Asia Sun Trading Co Ltd, a company designated for sanctions by the UK earlier this year, and Cargo Link Petroleum Logistics Co Ltd, a transportation firm that distributes jet fuel to the military throughout Myanmar and was also designated by the UK earlier in the year, the Treasury said.

Two individuals were also sanctioned: Tun Min Latt, whom the treasury described as a close associate of the military regime’s leader, and Tun Min Latt’s wife, Win Min Soe, who is co-owner with her husband of the three business entities: Star Sapphire group of companies, Star Sapphire Trading Company Ltd, and Singapore-based Star Sapphire Group PTE Ltd.

The couple’s firms were involved with importing “military arms and equipment, including drones and aircraft parts”, and had also acted as an agent for China’s arms manufacturer Norinco, which was already sanctioned by the US, the Treasury said. Tun Min Latt was arrested in Thailand in September on charges of drug trafficking and money laundering, it added.

“Burma’s military regime continues to inflict pain and suffering on its own people,” Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian Nelson said in a statement, referring to the country by its previous name.

Today @USTreasury designated eight targets linked to the defense sector of Burma’s economy and issued a Sanctions Alert on Burma jet fuel. The U.S. remains committed to denying the regime the means to continue its violence & egregious atrocities. https://t.co/KJfS0lwDfd

— Derek Chollet (@CounselorDOS) March 24, 2023

Atrocities perpetrated from the air

Since seizing power in 2021, the military regime had come to rely increasingly on air attacks which had targeted civilian areas with “unguided munitions and rockets”.

“These attacks include air strikes in late 2022 on the village of Let Yet Kone in central Burma that impacted a school with children and teachers present, as well as an air strike in the northern state of Kachin that killed as many as 80 people who were attending a musical concert,” the Treasury said.

Friday’s announced sanctions were the latest by the US against firms and individuals linked to the country’s military rulers. The EU and the UK have also imposed rounds of sanctions designed to isolate the military government.

Justice for Myanmar activist group and The Sentry organisation welcomed Washington’s focus on jet fuel supplies and the imposition of sanctions on companies and individuals linked to the regime.

📣 JFM & @TheSentry_Org welcome US sanctions on Star Sapphire Group companies and two of the group’s co-owners. We call for the EU, UK, Canada & Australia to coordinate efforts to ensure that all of the Star Sapphire entities and owners are sanctioned. 👉🏽https://t.co/Ai4ObZeFmj pic.twitter.com/rxviMPJBEI

— Justice For Myanmar (@JusticeMyanmar) March 25, 2023

We “welcome the decision by the US to sanction these military cronies and call for like-minded jurisdictions, including the European Union, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, to coordinate efforts to ensure that all of the Star Sapphire entities and owners are sanctioned in each jurisdiction”, the organisations said in a joint statement.

Last month, the EU imposed asset freezes and travel bans on 16 individuals and entities in Myanmar – including its energy minister, influential businessmen and high-ranking officers – over “grave” violations of human rights in the country.

The EU also condemned widespread human rights violations carried out by the military, including sexual violence, the persecution of civil society workers, human rights activists, journalists and air raids on civilians and civilian infrastructure including schools and hospitals.