Myanmar rolls out Chinese camera surveillance systems in more cities

Myanmar's junta government is installing Chinese-built cameras with facial recognition capabilities in more cities across the country, three people with direct knowledge of the matter said.

In tenders to procure and install the security cameras and facial recognition technology, the plans are described as safe city projects aimed at maintaining security and, in some cases, preserving civil peace, said the people who are or have been involved in the projects.

Since the February 2021 coup, local authorities have started new camera surveillance projects for at least five cities, according to information from the three people who asked not to be identified.

The new projects are in addition to camera systems in five cities touted as crime prevention measures that were either installed or planned by the previous government led by Ms Aung San Suu Kyi, said the sources and local media.

A junta spokesman did not answer calls seeking comment. None of the 10 municipal governments answered calls seeking comment. Reuters was not able to review the tenders or visit the cities to verify the installation of the cameras.

The junta is planning camera surveillance systems for cities in each of Myanmar's seven states and seven regions, said one of the sources who was briefed on the junta's plans on two occasions by different people.

The scale of the junta's efforts to roll out camera surveillance systems has not been reported before.

The tenders have been won by local procurement firms including Fisca Security & Communication and Naung Yoe Technologies, the three sources said. The firms source the cameras and some related technology from Chinese surveillance giants Zhejiang Dahua Technology, Huawei Technologies and Hikvision, the three sources added.

Fisca and Naung Yoe, both headquartered in Yangon, did not respond to requests for comment.

Huawei and Dahua did not respond to Reuters requests for comment. Hikvision said in a statement it has never sold directly to Myanmar government authorities, and that its customers in overseas markets are distributors and integrators. It also said it had not sold facial recognition technology to the country.

The three sources also said Myanmar procurement firms that won the tenders sometimes use facial recognition software developed by local and regional companies.

Closed-circuit television (CCTV) or video surveillance systems are used by many cities around the world to discourage crime. Increasingly controversial facial recognition software is also being employed, with the technology gaining ground in the United States for law enforcement purposes. Some sophisticated systems, such as those used in Chinese cities, use artificial intelligence to match real-time images of people against a database of images.

The people with direct knowledge of the Myanmar projects and human rights groups said they fear the new projects could be used to crack down on activists and resistance groups, both of which have been designated as terrorists by the junta in the wake of its coup.

They were not able to provide evidence of the junta's intentions.

"Surveillance cameras pose a serious risk to (Myanmar's) democracy activists because the military and police can use them to track their movements, figure out connections between activists, identify safe houses and other gathering spots, and recognise and intercept cars and motorcycles used by activists," Human Rights Watch deputy Asia director Phil Robertson told Reuters.

REUTERS