SpaceWar.com - Your World At War
Russian navy ships arrive in Myanmar for joint drills
Yangon, Oct 21 (AFP) Oct 21, 2024
A group of Russian navy ships arrived in war-torn Myanmar to join maritime exercises with the military junta's navy, Myanmar state media said on Monday.

Four corvettes and a logistics vessel from Russia's Pacific Fleet arrived at Thilawa port in Yangon on Sunday "to join the second Myanmar-Russia joint maritime security exercise", the Global New Light of Myanmar said.

The Russian ships will conduct "harbour phase" exercises, the newspaper said, without giving details.

On Sunday the junta announced it would hold a live-fire maritime security exercise in the waters of the north Andaman Sea from October 20 to 24.

It warned fishing boats and aircraft not to travel around the area but did not say if any Russian ships or personnel were taking part in that exercise.

Both navies held a combined drill in the Andaman Sea in November last year.

Along with China, Moscow is a close ally of the Myanmar junta, providing arms and diplomatic support as Myanmar's military struggles to crush armed opposition to its rule.

With its ground troops under pressure, the junta is increasingly relying on its air force that includes Russian Sukhoi Su-30s, MiG-29s and Yak planes, analysts say.

Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing has travelled to Russia several times since leading the 2021 coup, including for a meeting with President Vladimir Putin in 2022.

Russia has said it backs the generals' plan for new elections and the junta has in turn supported Russia's invasion of Ukraine, describing it as "justified".

The United States has said any elections under the junta would be a "sham", while analysts say polls would be targeted by the military's opponents and spark further bloodshed.

In August, the junta's other major ally China said it supported the military's plans for elections.

Earlier this month sources close to the military told AFP that Min Aung Hlaing would travel to China in November in what would be his first known trip there since the coup.


ADVERTISEMENT




Space News from SpaceDaily.com
Russian space chief to meet NASA head for first time in eight years
BlackSky to supply satellite imagery and analytics for Latin American security operations
Cascade raises 59M to develop full stack satellite communications platform

24/7 Energy News Coverage
Palantir, the AI giant that preaches US dominance
China and US wrap first day of trade talks
'Food on table' outweighs health risks for Philippine e-waste dismantlers

Military Space News, Nuclear Weapons, Missile Defense
North Korea warns US against pushing it to give up nukes
Iran vows stronger response if attacked again by US, Israel
Ukraine says Russian attacks targeted western city, home to airfield

24/7 News Coverage
BAE Systems completes delivery of NOAA and NASA space weather satellites for fall launch
Building blocks of life found in distant star system suggest origins in interstellar space
Deep-sea fish confirmed as a significant source of ocean carbonate



All rights reserved. Copyright Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.