Indonesia says it ‘never’ sold arms to Myanmar’s junta. But was there a go-between?

Activists have accused Indonesian state-backed weapons makers of dealing with Myanmar’s generals in defiance of a UN resolution that Jakarta backed

Observers say it could hurt Indonesia’s reputation as a peace broker, its credibility with Myanmar people – and Prabowo Subianto’s electoral prospects

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Myanmar junta chief Min Aung Hlaing at a military parade in March to mark the country’s Armed Forces Day. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 12:30pm, 11 Oct 2023Updated: 12:31pm, 11 Oct 2023

Indonesia’s defence sector has flatly denied allegations it sold weapons to Myanmar’s junta in violation of a UN resolution, which Jakarta backed, to stop arms sales to the generals following their 2021 coup.

But observers say workarounds, such as the use of offshore intermediaries, could have enabled such military sales to continue – potentially hurting Indonesia’s reputation as a peace broker and defender of Myanmar’s persecuted Rohingya Muslims if found to be true.

Defend ID, Indonesia’s state-owned defence holding company set up in 2022 to reduce dependency on military imports, said in a statement last week that it was “fully supporting” the UN resolution and had “never exported” to Myanmar since the coup.

Myanmar military personnel march at an Independence Day parade in January. Rights groups have accused Indonesian companies of selling weapons to the junta following 2021’s coup. Photo: AFP

The only “export activities to Myanmar” it mentioned in its October 4 statement were for “sports specification ammunition products” ahead of the Asean Armies Rifle Meet shooting competition in 2016.

Defend ID issued the statement in response to an October 2 complaint filed with Indonesia’s human rights commission alleging that three state-owned arms makers – munitions firm Pindad, aircraft builder Dirgantara Indonesia, and shipbuilder PAL – had been selling equipment to Myanmar since the coup.

“We always comply with and adhere to applicable regulations, including Indonesia’s foreign policies,” the Defend ID statement said.

But according to Kevin O’Rourke, producer of the Reformasi Weekly newsletter that’s analysed politics and policymaking in Indonesia for the past two decades, “a commonplace arrangement in defence contracting is to carry out transactions via third-party intermediaries offshore, in jurisdictions such as Singapore”.