New Delhi: Western sanctions on the sale of weapons equipment, spare parts and components are having an impact not only on Russia’s arms manufacturing, but also in countries such as Myanmar.
JF-17 aircraft – a light, single-engine, multi-role fighter jointly produced by Pakistan Aeronautical Complex and Chengdu Aircraft Corporation of China – grounded in 2018 due to technical difficulties involved by Nyapidaw is, a report good on news website Irrawaddy gives suggestions.
The report states that there is a serious shortage of Western-supplied spare parts, especially for avionics, due to Western sanctions The entire fleet of JF-17s has been grounded after a military coup in 2021. In addition, Myanmar’s air force is also unable to purchase missiles and bombs due to sanctions.
Avinash Paliwal, associate professor of international relations at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) London, told ThePrint, “Essentially, it shows that the Western sanctions regime is clearly working.
However, this does not mean that Myanmar’s JF-17 fleet will be grounded forever. He said that soon technicians from China or Pakistan would be roped in to fix the problems.
“In the long run, these sanctions on Russia could create an opportunity to supply arms instead to China, especially for countries like Myanmar that rely heavily on Russian arms,” he said.
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Opportunities and a New Struggle for China
as writer Bertil Lintner Explained Earlier this year, Ukraine and Russia are Myanmar’s biggest arms suppliers, with the ongoing war likely to reduce arms sales to the country from these sources.
Data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) It shows That Myanmar bought weapons worth $1.7 billion between 2001 and 2021. Myanmar in 2018 Agreed Will buy six Su-30 fighter jets from Russia.
“China is looking at arms exports to Russia as an opportunity for its arms industry. Beijing would like to replace Russian arms sales with its own products,” Paliwal said.
reports There are suggestions that China is coaxing Pakistan to send arms supplies to Myanmar to make up for the lack of supplies from Russia. Wary of sanctions, China is using this route as it does not want to lose Moscow in the Burmese market.
Paliwal said that a new conflict over the supply of arms to countries affected by Western sanctions will continue in the following years – China and Russia will be its centers – as we see in Myanmar.
27 Russian weapon systems dependent on Western technology
A report by the London-based thinktank Royal United Services Institution (RUSI) said this Told That 27 weapon systems used by Russia in the Ukraine war depended largely on microelectronics manufactured in Western countries such as the US, Switzerland, Britain, France and Germany. The report states that these microelectronics are part of various Western-backed export-control measures to block Russia from accessing them.
Microelectronics is essentially concerned with the manufacturing of microscopic electronic particles and components. Typically, microelectronics are made of semiconductor materials.
Specifically, the RUSI report found “450 different types of unique foreign-made components in these 27 systems, most of which were manufactured by American companies with a longstanding reputation for sophisticated microelectronics design and manufacturing for the US military.” were together.”
Of the 27 weapon systems that RUSI analyzed, they were either captured or scrapped during the war. These included cruise missiles, communication systems and electronic warfare systems.
Of the 450 components, 80 are directly subject to US export controls and regulations. However, Russia is said to have built up illegal and covert trade networks over the years to evade sanctions and access these Western technologies, including microelectronics.
Faced with a rising tide of Western sanctions, particularly on microelectronics, Russia has sought to adopt an import-substitution strategy. However, this strategy proved to be “non-viable”. As a result, RUSI has assessed that evading sanctions and using their illegal networks has become a “key priority” for Russia.
The report argued that “the decline in Russian military capability could be made permanent” if the West could unite to enforce export rules and prevent microelectronics from reaching Russia.
(Edited by VS Chandrasekhar)
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