A senior State Department official indicated Wednesday that the U.S. would announce more penalties against Myanmar businesses in the coming days.
Derek Chollet, U.S. State Department Counselor, told reporters in Jakarta that the sanctions will make it harder for Myanmar’s military to obtain arms.
“We’re determined to ratchet up the pressure on the junta and make it tougher for them to produce cash, which is supporting its war machine,” Chollet said, adding that Myanmar was “on the way to becoming a failed state in the heart of Southeast Asia.”
Myanmar’s military ousted an elected government in 2021 and has since killed dissenters, causing turmoil.
The U.S. and other Western nations have sanctioned junta members, military agencies, and military-run corporations to limit their fundraising.
Chollet said the U.S. had sanctioned 80 Myanmar citizens and over 30 businesses.
Putin said Moscow must cease giving military weaponry to the regime to resolve the Myanmar war.
“We would make a very huge step in that direction if Russia were to cease sending armaments to Burma,” he added.
Chollet urged ASEAN to exclude Myanmar’s military authorities from its meetings.
“The government has to clearly grasp that as long as it’s continuing to wage such a harsh campaign against their own people that they will bear the repercussions — and that will include more isolation in the international community.”
ASEAN bans junta leaders from high-level meetings but won’t censure or expel Burma from the 10-member group.
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