The Myanmar “death factory” : Beijing's hidden role in bomb production
A new report accuses Chinese state-owned companies of supporting the Burmese junta's arms production for over a decade, particularly at the DI 21 military plant, where aerial bombs used against the population are manufactured. This ongoing support includes know-how and essential components for manufacturing weapons. Experts are calling on the international community to put pressure on Beijing to stop military assistance and start a genuine peace process.
Yangon (AsiaNews) - China's support for Myanmar's military junta is not limited to the physical transfer of weapons: Chinese companies play an important role in the development and production of weapons in Myanmar, particularly at a military facility in the Magway region called DI 21.
This is according to the latest report by the Special Advisory Council for Myanmar (SAC-M) entitled: ‘Factory of Death: China's Support for the Myanmar Military's Production of Aerial Bombs’, which draws on previous research tracing the Burmese coup junta's arms supply network. The weapons factories are known as “KaPaSa” and were first established in remote areas of the country in the 1950s, before undergoing progressive diversification.
The SAC-M investigation, published on 16 July, reveals that the China South Industries Group Corporation, a Chinese state-owned company, has enabled the development and production of weapons at the DI 21 facility for over a decade through two subsidiaries, Chongqing Changan and Hunan Vanguard. Chinese support, which intensified after the February 2021 coup, has become more crucial to the junta, enabling DI 21 to maintain steady arms production.
The “death factory”, as the report calls it, produces most of the Burmese air force's aerial bombs, which are in turn “likely designed to be compatible” with Chinese-made military aircraft. Another investigation, published in September last year by Justice For Myanmar and Info Birmanie, confirmed that several Chinese companies specialising in the design and manufacture of military aircraft have continued to supply the Burmese army with fighter jets.
The SAC-M investigation claims that China provided the designs and know-how necessary for the production of the weapons, and also continued to supply essential parts and technical assistance, both by sending Chinese personnel to the DI 21 plant and by hosting factory personnel in China for training. ‘China South's assistance has been essential to the establishment of most of the factory's current production lines,’ the report said. In other words, without Chinese know-how and support, Myanmar's ability to produce air bombs independently would be significantly reduced.
Those produced at the DI 21 plant are weapons used in raids against civilians, including 250 kg FAE (Fuel Air Explosive) bombs, which are themselves derived from another type of weapon produced by China South. The transfer of this technology took place before 2015, when FAEs were first used by the Burmese air force.
FAE bombs – just some of the weapons produced by the DI 21 factory – work through a two-stage mechanism that distinguishes them from conventional explosives. First, the weapon disperses a cloud of fuel into the air above the target, which mixes with oxygen to create a highly volatile mixture. Then, a second charge ignites the mixture, causing a prolonged shock wave. These bombs can cause severe internal organ damage and rapid oxygen depletion.
In their investigation, SAC-M experts (who used high-resolution satellite imagery, analysis of material published online by the junta itself, internal documents obtained from various sources, interviews with defectors, forensic analysis of the remains of the bombings and research on supply chains) appeal to the international community, stressing that, in order to initiate a peace process, pressure must be put on China to immediately cease all forms of military assistance to the Burmese junta.
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