SINGAPORE – Singapore will not hesitate to take action against any individual or entity that contravenes its laws, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) spokesman said in response to a United Nations report which found that US$254 million (S$342 million) worth of supplies were shipped to the Myanmar military through Singapore-based entities.

The report, by UN Special Rapporteur Tom Andrews, said there are no indications the Singapore Government had approved or was involved in the shipments, which included arms and took place between February 2021 and December 2022.

UN’s Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on Wednesday released the report detailing how the Myanmar military had imported at least US$1 billion in arms and raw materials to manufacture weapons since the coup in February 2021.

Countries involved in the shipments included Russia, China, India and Thailand, the report said. For Singapore, Mr Andrews found that the shipments were made via 138 unique suppliers.

The report said he provided his detailed findings on shipments involving Singapore-based entities to the Singapore Government in early March, including the names of at least 45 entities, their Singapore Unique Entity Number, the items shipped to the military and the approximate value of the items. Information on the arms-dealing networks associated with the entities was also provided, the report said.

The report also said Singaporean banks have been “used extensively by arms dealers”, and that “substantial reserves” of Myanmar are suspected to be held in DBS Bank, UOB and OCBC Bank.

Responding to media queries on Friday, a Monetary Authority of Singapore spokesman said it has alerted banks here based on the information provided in the UN report, and that several of the entities mentioned no longer have business relationships with the banks.

“Banks are closely scrutinising transactions of the remaining entities and will take further actions as necessary,” she said.

The spokesman noted that banks in Singapore will not facilitate the sale and transfer of arms to Myanmar, in line with the Government’s ban.

She said banks have been “applying enhanced due diligence” on all transactions involving Myanmar entities and individuals which present higher risk, and are alert to the risk of shell companies and concealed networks of related entities being used to obscure links to the Myanmar military. 

The banks have stepped up efforts to detect such entities and networks, including by deploying data analytics, she added.

Separately, MFA’s spokesman said on Friday that Singapore appreciates the Special Rapporteur’s efforts to provide information to aid investigations into whether any offences were committed under Singapore law.

MFA added that Singapore does not authorise the transfer of “dual-use items which have been assessed to have potential military application to Myanmar where there is a serious risk that they may be used to inflict violence against unarmed civilians”.

Singapore has taken a principled position against the Myanmar military’s use of lethal force against unarmed civilians and has worked to prevent the flow of arms into the country as called for in the UN General Assembly (UNGA) resolution on the situation in Myanmar, said the spokesman.

“In the meantime, the Singapore Government remains committed to providing humanitarian assistance to support the people of Myanmar. We will continue to work with our fellow Asean member states and the UN to facilitate peace and national reconciliation in Myanmar,” she said.

According to the UN report, a list of the shipments from Singapore-based entities included arms, dual-use military supplies like radio and communication equipment, manufacturing equipment and raw materials.

Under arms shipments, the report listed components for fighter jets, spare parts for helicopters, equipment for electronic warfare and radar equipment.

Other key findings in the report were that 28 suppliers from Russia had shipped US$406 million worth of arms to the Myanmar military, and 41 suppliers from China had shipped US$267 million worth of arms.

According to the UN, about 3,000 civilians have been killed by the Myanmar military since the coup, including more than 200 children.

Mr Andrews, who is a former member of the United States Congress from Maine, said that despite this, the military continues to have access to “advanced weapons systems, spare parts for fighter jets, raw materials and manufacturing equipment for domestic weapons production”.

The Myanmar military’s factories are believed to have produced two 250kg bombs that were dropped on Pazi Gyi village in April, killing about 170 people.

“Those providing these weapons are able to avoid sanctions by using front companies and creating new ones, while counting on lax enforcement,” he said.

He added that entities operating in Singapore have become critical to the continued operation of the Myanmar military’s weapons factories known as Karkweye Pyitsee Setyone, or KaPaSa.

He urged the Singapore Government to take action to stop all facilitation and shipment of materials to the Myanmar military from its jurisdiction, and cripple production at KaPaSa factories.

The report also noted that Singapore’s Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan had set out the Republic’s policy on arms and dual-use good sales to Myanmar in Parliament in February.

The minister had said then that while the UNGA resolution was not strictly legally binding, Singapore decided to prohibit the transfer of arms to Myanmar, and not authorise the transfer to Myanmar of dual-use items which have been assessed to have potential military application.

Mr Andrews urged Singapore’s leaders to “seize the information within this report and enforce its policies to the maximum extent possible”.

“If the Singapore Government were to stop all shipments and facilitation of arms and associated materials to the Myanmar military from its jurisdiction, the impact on the junta’s ability to commit war crimes would be significantly disrupted,” he said.

Correction note: In an earlier version of this story, the Monetary Authority of Singapore was mistakenly referred to the Monetary Association of Singapore. It has been corrected. We are sorry for the error.