Secretary of the Russian Security Council Sergey Shoygu said Tuesday that Western countries are attempting to block China’s access to the Indian Ocean.
In an interview with Russian state news agency Tass, Shoygu noted that the shortest route from China to Europe passes through Myanmar.
“It should be understood that Western politicians view Myanmar in the context of their broader strategy to contain China, as well as attempts to cut off Beijing’s access to the Indian Ocean and deprive it of access to Myanmar’s rich resources,” he said.
Shoygu warned that if the United States were to gain control over Myanmar, its navy could block the route from China to Europe that bypasses the Malacca Strait during any escalation around Taiwan or the South China Sea.
He argued that this strategic concern explains why Western countries aim to change Myanmar’s leadership and are deploying military instructors to the country.
“Behind the loud slogans about protecting the interests of ordinary people are the cynical plans of Westerners to replace the leadership of Myanmar with so-called democratic leaders loyal to them,” Shoygu said.
Shoygu further claimed that Western nations provide financial and material support to anti-government groups, send military instructors, and set up logistics hubs in border areas to destabilize Myanmar and interfere in its elections.
He praised Myanmar’s recent general parliamentary elections as “open and transparent,” adding that the authorities “demonstrated their commitment to constitutional principles.”
According to Shoygu, 57 political parties took part in the elections, and Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, China, India, Nicaragua, and three ASEAN countries—Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand—sent observers.
He said more than 5,000 candidates from the 57 parties participated, with six represented nationally and the remainder contesting at the regional level.
Shoygu stated that the results confirmed the correctness of Myanmar’s chosen political course.
The elections marked the first since the Myanmar junta overthrew the elected government led by Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) in a 2021 military coup, which plunged the country into more than four years of emergency rule.
Thousands of people have been killed since the junta dissolved dozens of political parties, including the NLD, before permitting new parties to contest the three-phased elections held between December and January.
Due to ongoing internal ethnic conflicts, elections were not held in many regions of the Southeast Asian nation.
Beyond the electoral process, Shoygu accused Western countries of conducting a smear campaign against Myanmar, aiming from the start to discredit the elections internationally as “unfair and non-inclusive.”
“At the same time,” he said, “Western countries did not even think to condemn the sabotage of terrorist groups trying to disrupt the electoral process.”
Shoygu pledged Russia’s support for Myanmar in resisting external destabilization and claimed that Western efforts continue to undermine ASEAN’s established cooperation and security framework.
He also highlighted ongoing discussions between Russia and Myanmar on cooperation in energy security, personnel training, military and military-technical collaboration, as well as cybersecurity and information security.
