MOSCOW

Secretary of the Russian Security Council Sergey Shoygu said Tuesday that the West is attempting to cut off China’s access to the Indian Ocean.

In an interview with Russian state news agency Tass, Shoygu said 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.

According to Shoygu, if the US were to control Myanmar, its navy could block a route from China to Europe that bypasses the Malacca Strait in the event of escalation around Taiwan or the South China Sea.

He argued that this is why Western countries aim to change Myanmar’s leadership and are sending 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,” he said.

Shoygu claimed Western countries provide financial and material support to anti-government groups, send military instructors, and establish 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,” saying the authorities “demonstrated their commitment to constitutional principles.”

Shoygu said 57 political parties took part in the elections and that Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, China, India, Nicaragua, and three ASEAN countries, namely Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand, sent observers.

More than 5,000 candidates from 57 political parties participated, with six represented nationally and the remainder at the regional level, he added.

He said the results confirmed the correctness of Myanmar’s chosen course.

Myanmar junta held the first elections since overthrowing the previous elected government, led by Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD), in a 2021 military coup, plunging the country into more than four years of emergency rule.

Thousands have been killed since the junta abolished dozens of political parties, including NLD, before allowing new parties for the three-phased elections held between December and January.

Due to internal ethnic conflict, elections were not held in many regions of the Southeast Asian nation.

Beyond developments on the ground, Shoygu accused the West of waging a smear campaign against Myanmar, seeking from the outset 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 said the West continues efforts to undermine ASEAN’s established cooperation and security framework.

He also noted that Russia and Myanmar are discussing cooperation on energy security, personnel training, military and military-technical ties, as well as cybersecurity and information security.