Rights watchdog Justice for Myanmar (JFM) has issued a scathing call for international sanctions against Chinese state-owned arms manufacturer Norinco, accusing the conglomerate of directly enabling Myanmar’s military junta to carry out atrocities against civilians.
The demand comes after the Mandalay People’s Defense Force (PDF) seized a cache of Norinco-supplied weapons and ammunition from junta bases in Madaya and Patheingyi townships on July 20. The seized items included GBP128 mine-clearing line charges—combat-grade explosives capable of breaching minefields—reportedly supplied under a 2017 arms contract.
“China must end its complicity in the military’s atrocities,” JFM stated, urging Beijing to halt its supply of arms and surveillance technologies to Myanmar’s military regime.
Photos released by the resistance group show Norinco-labeled crates delivered to the junta’s Chief of Defense Industries, reinforcing long-standing concerns about China’s deep military involvement in Myanmar.
Weaponized Profiteering Behind Business Deals
Norinco’s role is not just limited to weapons supply. The conglomerate, through its subsidiary Wanbao Mining, operates the controversial Letpadaung copper mine in Salingyi Township, Sagaing Region—an area that has become a focal point of anti-junta resistance. JFM alleges Norinco arms the junta in exchange for lucrative extraction rights, suggesting a disturbing nexus between Chinese commercial interests and the junta’s militarized exploitation of national resources.
A 2023 UN report revealed that Norinco’s subsidiary China Wanbao Engineering exported military-related goods worth between $5–10 million to Myanmar’s junta between February 2021 and December 2022—well after the military coup that ousted Myanmar’s civilian government.
“This is not passive trade—it is calculated complicity,” said a JFM spokesperson, citing leaked documents that show plans to equip the junta navy with missile systems and export weapons-manufacturing materials to Myanmar’s military-owned arms factories, known as KaPaSa.
Technological Support for Oppression
Norinco technicians have also been involved in technical upgrades and weapons development within Myanmar, including work in Magwe Region assisting in anti-aircraft weapon production and supplying a MBT-2000 tank simulator for a military training school in Kyaukse.
Such collaboration represents a flagrant violation of global arms embargoes and directly contravenes the international community’s efforts to isolate Myanmar’s military for its brutal crackdown on civilians, ethnic minorities, and democratic forces.
China’s Shadow Over Myanmar’s Conflict
Beijing’s hand in Myanmar extends far beyond weaponry. Human rights groups and political analysts alike accuse China of pressuring ethnic armed organizations along its border to cease hostilities against the junta, thereby propping up the regime. In April, under Beijing’s pressure, the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army returned Lashio, the capital of northern Shan State, to regime control—despite gains made by resistance groups.
Anti-China sentiment is now surging across Myanmar as citizens and resistance groups grow increasingly resentful of Beijing’s support for the junta.
The revelations underscore a stark reality: international silence and selective diplomacy are enabling a military regime to survive on foreign weapons and extraction deals, while committing crimes against humanity. Rights groups are demanding that governments and international institutions, including the UN and the EU, impose urgent sanctions on Norinco and all Chinese entities linked to military assistance in Myanmar.
“Every weapon shipped, every contract signed, is another nail in the coffin of Myanmar’s democracy,” JFM warned. “Global actors must choose whether they stand for human rights—or for profits stained with blood.”
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