Civil society groups and humanitarian aid organisations will still receive aid
Police keep watch at a guesthouse where members of parliament reside in the capital Naypyidaw on February 2, 2021. AFP / STR
The US government determined on Tuesday that the events in Myanmar constitute a coup d’etat and thereby warrant a cut in US aid to the new government.
The State Department decision, announced on a call with reporters, is the first major foreign policy declaration by the Biden team on Asia since President Joe Biden took office on January 20.
“After a careful review of the facts and circumstances, we have assessed that Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of Burma's ruling party, and Win Mynt, the duly elected head of government, were deposed in a military coup on February 1,” a senior official said. Both leaders have been detained.
"A very small circle of Burma's military leaders have chosen their own interests over the will and well-being of the people,” the official added.
The determination was made after a legal and factual review of the events on the ground, in which the country's military took power after claiming the November election was fraudulent. The determination now triggers an immediate cut to US assistance to the government. But this cut will not impact aid to civil society groups in the country or to the Rohingya refugees.
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"The coup restrictions apply to US foreign assistance for the government of Burma, and we will continue programmes for the people of Burma that benefit them directly, including humanitarian assistance to the Rohingya and other populations in need,” the senior official said.
The US is also reviewing the possibility of placing sanctions on those responsible for the so-called coup. “We will take action against those responsible, including through a careful review of our current sanctions posture as it relates to Burma's military leaders and companies associated with them.”
Myanmar’s army chief Min Aung Hlaing, who is now in charge after the military seized power, has already been subjected to sanctions and a visa ban by the United States.
But it is unclear how much leverage the US holds by cutting foreign assistance to the government, as it makes up only a small portion of US aid to the country. A US official described it as “very little”.
Officials denied that there has been any contact between the Biden administration and the military leaders who seized power on Monday. For the time being, the US is co-ordinating with its regional allies such as Japan and India, the State Department explained.
By calling the events a coup d'etat, the Biden administration is taking a symbolic pro-democracy stance in its policy towards the region. This immediately pits it against China’s position on the developments. China shares a long border with Myanmar, has strong relations with the military and has refrained from calling it a coup.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin urged the country’s leaders to “properly handle their differences" and "maintain political and social stability.” When asked about China’s role in Monday’s events, the US official did not have any comment.
The US removed some of its sanctions on Myanmar following the 2010 elections that saw the country’s transition to a more democratic system. But in 2017, as a military crackdown went into effect and as the Rohingya refugee crisis intensified, some of these sanctions were reimposed.
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