U.S. required to cut foreign aid to Myanmar after formally determining military takeover is a coup

Military vehicles in Mandalay.
(Image credit: STR/AFP via Getty Images)

"After careful review of the facts and circumstance," the State Department has officially determined the military takeover in Myanmar was a coup d'état, a designation that requires the United States to cut its foreign aid to the country, CNN notes.

After Myanmar's military, which ruled the country for decades until 2011, seized control and detained top government figures, including Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of Myanmar's ruling party, the Biden administration reportedly spent much of the day debating whether they should formally recognize the events as a coup. President Biden condemned the military's actions, but U.S. trade with Myanmar is small, while China's is significant, so there was seemingly a concern that an official designation would drive Myanmar even closer to Beijing, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday.

Ultimately, though, the administration went through with it on Tuesday. A State Department official told CNN that Washington sends little foreign assistance to Myanmar's government, which, along with the military, "is already subject to a number of foreign assistance restrictions ... due to its human rights record," including allegations of genocide against the Rohingya, a predominantly Muslim ethnic group. The U.S. reportedly plans to continue its humanitarian programs that help the Rohingya, as well as other "democracy support programs that benefit civil society." Read more at CNN.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Tim O'Donnell

Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.