◀ anchor ▶
In 2019, when the Myanmar military was being sanctioned by the international community for the genocide issue, our MBC report revealed that our company, POSCO International, was exporting warships to the Myanmar military.
It was confirmed that the police had recently booked about 10 officers from the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) who gave permission to export and the companies that made and sold the warship.
Reporter Ko Jae-min reports alone.
◀ Report ▶
The first amphibious assault ship and one of the largest ships of the Myanmar Navy, the Moatama.
It can carry 2 helicopters, 15 armored vehicles and 250 sailors.
This ship was built by Daesun Shipbuilding on order from POSCO International in 2019 and exported to the Myanmar military with the permission of the Ministry of Defense Acquisition Program.
It was a time when the Myanmar military was sanctioned by the international community for the massacre of the Rohingya minority.
When this fact became known last year, POSCO International explained, “It was sold for public support, not warships.”
[포스코 인터내셔널 관계자(2021년 4월)]
“The multipurpose support vessel was sold in a normal way…”
However, looking at the shipbuilding documents obtained by the reporting team, it was revealed that the main design of the ship remained the same and only the contents of the documents were changed.
All missions originally described as ‘Amphibious Ship’, ‘Amphibious Operation’, ‘Sea Operation Maneuvering’, and ‘Tank Transport’ have been deleted.
Also, the military term ‘troop’ was changed to ‘public’ and ‘tank deck’ to ‘K-deck’.
However, if you look at the data prepared after the Myanmar Navy took over the ship, it was clearly defined as a ‘military vessel’.
The tank was written on the cross-section of the ship, the ‘Soldier’s Room’ was written on the internal facilities, and even pictures of military trucks and tanks to be loaded onto the ship were included.
Based on these documents, it is reported that the police have arrested 14 people, including 4 officers from POSCO International, officers from Daeseon Shipbuilding and the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, and are conducting an intensive investigation.
The companies appear to have conspired to illegally export military amphibious ships, and the Defense Acquisition Program Administration was suspected of procuring or assisting.
[신종우/한국국방안보포럼 사무국장]
“No matter how you look at it, it’s a warship… If the Defense Acquisition Program Administration had actually seen this ship, not a document, it would have fully recognized that it was not a form of public support.. .”
In response, POSCO International said, “We cannot comment on the details as this is an ongoing investigation, but we have been granted permission to export in accordance with due process.”
The Defense Acquisition Program Administration also said, “It is difficult to give a detailed situation because the matter is under investigation.”
Even in 2006, during the time of its predecessor, Daewoo International, Poscointor was punished for exporting artillery equipment disguised as industrial machinery to the Myanmar army.
This is Jaemin Ko from MBC News.
Video commentary: Kim Jun-hyung / Video editing: Im Joo-hyang
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