Myanmar coup: US sanctions Myanmar military jet fuel supplies

The United States announced a new round of sanctions on the Myanmar military, targeting its suppliers of aviation fuel and connected businesses. The new round of sanctions comes amidst the unrest in Myanmar following the coup staged by its generals to seize power from its elected government.

Friday last week, the US Treasury announced that it was imposing sanctions that target two individuals and six entities connected to the Myanmar military, who enabled the atrocities that are being committed by the junta. Three of the sanctioned entities are under Myanmar’s defense sector in the importation, storage, and distribution of jet fuel for the military’s armed forces.

The Treasury sanctioned the Sia Sun Group, the Asia Sun Trading Co Ltd, and Cargo Link Petroleum Logistics Co Ltd. The Sia Sun Group was previously already sanctioned by the European Union and Canada, while the Asia Sun Trading Co Ltd and the Cargo Link Petroleum Logistics Co Ltd firms were up for sanctions by the United Kingdom early this year.

The Treasury also sanctioned Tun Min Latt - a close associate of the junta leader Min Aung Hlaing, and his wife Win Min Soe, who is the co-owner of the three other sanctioned business entities, the Star Sapphire group of companies, Star Sapphire Trading Company Ltd, and the Star Sapphire Group PTE Ltd which is based in Singapore.

Tun Min Latt and Win Min Soe’s companies were involved with the import of “military arms and equipment, including drones and aircraft parts,” and also acted as an agent for China’s arms manufacturer Norinco, which Washington has previously sanctioned. Tun Min Latt was arrested in Thailand back in September on charges of drug trafficking and money laundering.

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

The country has been in a state of crisis since February 2021, when the generals seized power and ousted the elected government. Hundreds of those who opposed the coup were killed in the military’s crackdown, with thousands detained. The Myanmar military is also facing armed resistance groups on multiple fronts.

Rights activists have recently criticized the junta, and its “pilot project” to repatriate around 1,000 Rohingya minority refugees from Bangladesh, calling the initiative “a PR campaign.” Around 800,000 Rohingya fled Myanmar in 2017 after the military carried out a brutal crackdown that killed thousands.