Thai Government Must Act Now: Stop Oil and Gas Payments to Myanmar Junta

No – 5/2025

3 April, 2025

On March 28, 2025, a 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck Myanmar, causing widespread devastation. As of April 3, 2025, the death toll from the earthquake had risen to 3,885, with 5,455 injured and 719 missing—numbers that will likely continue to rise.Even before this disaster, more than 3 million people had been displaced, and nearly 20 million desperately needed humanitarian aid, according to the United Nations.

Despite this humanitarian catastrophe, the Myanmar military has intensified its attacks instead of aiding relief efforts. On the same day as the earthquake, the junta launched airstrikes in Naung Cho Township, Shan State. Since then, they have conducted over 22 airstrikes across the country, failing to rescue those trapped under collapsed buildings while continuing their brutal campaign against civilians. The junta has routinely targeted hospitals, forcing medical workers to operate in remote, unsafe areas. In the Sagaing Region alone, there were 39 documented attacks on healthcare facilities in 2024, most of them carried out by the military.

The oil and gas sector is the junta’s primary financial lifeline, enabling these war crimes. Thailand’s state-owned oil and gas company is the largest foreign investor in Myanmar’s energy sector, providing essential funding to the military. The Thai government has the sole power to stop this blood money from flowing to the junta.

To demonstrate genuine sympathy for the people of Myanmar in this time of suffering, Thailand must act. The Thai government must immediately halt oil and gas payments and must place revenues in an escrow account to prevent the junta from using these funds to commit further atrocities.

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