Military junta or State Administration Council (SAC) boss General Min Aung Hlaing’s trip to Moscow may be seen as move to challenge and counter international arrest warrant and at the same time to show the world that he isn’t in anyway isolated by it as intended.

Late last year, the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor requested an arrest warrant for Min Aung Hlaing for crimes against humanity.

The warrant, sought by ICC prosecutor Karim Khan, marks the first time a high-ranking Myanmar official faces potential legal action for the brutal 2017 crackdown that forced approximately 750,000 Rohingya to flee to Bangladesh to escape what the US and various rights groups have termed a genocide by the Myanmar military, according to various reports.

And recently, Argentina under Universal Jurisdiction also announced arrest warrant on February 13 of the General, together with two civilian leaders, Aung San Suu Kyi, U Htin Kyaw, and 22 other military officials.

Min Aung Hlaing met with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Grand Kremlin Palace on February 5, which was his fourth visit to Russia since he staged military coup and seized power in 2021. Reportedly, they oversaw the signing of 10 MoUs covering sectors including nuclear energy, education, sport, trade and investment, and many others, the Kremlin said.

During his visit Min Aung Hlaing made an unusual flattering and praising of Putin in an unusual way.

“Citing a 1938 biography of King Alaungpaya, who founded the Konbaung Dynasty in the 1700s, Min Aung Hlaing said a rat king named Thoma made offerings to the Buddha, who prophesied that Thoma would become a king of Russia more than 2,000 years after Buddha’s death and that he would have unrivaled knowledge of weaponry and become a friend and ally of Myanmar kings. “This prophecy has come true,” said the military junta boss, according to The Irrawaddy recent report.

Accordingly, Putin was the rat king then and although no mention was made, the Burmese king must have been himself now reincarnated into Min Aung Hlaing of the present day.

Putin must have been irked and feeling awkward by such funny fairytale appraisal and must be lost in translation.

Regardless of such a stunt and scenarios, Min Aung Hlaing is determined to hold on to power through general elections to be held by the end of the year or next year, which he reiterated again on his Belarus visit.

During a meeting with Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko in Minsk, Min invited “observation teams from Belarus to come and observe” the slated election.

Apart from that his moves are aimed at showing the world that it is firmly in Sino-Russian camp and orbit.

On top of that Min Aung Hlaing is actually even breaching the military-drafted constitution of 2008, particularly the Section 41 and 42, which writes:

“41. The Union practises independent, active and non-aligned foreign policy aimed at world peace and friendly relations with nations and upholds the principles of peaceful coexistence among nations.
42. (a) The Union shall not commence aggression against any nation.
(b) No foreign troops shall be permitted to be deployed in the territory of the Union.”

By firmly declaring to be in Sino-Russian camp, Min Aung Hlaing breached the non-aligned foreign policy of the constitution.

It also go against no deployment of foreign troops in Union territory, as it permitted the armed security firms from foreign countries to set up shop within the country.

Recently, Chinese security personnel of some 50 are said to be in Kyaukpyu to protect the Chinese economic interest.

In sum, Min Aung Hlaing’s main purpose is to copy Putin’s way of maintaining power through manipulated and stagemanaged elections, just as Belarus leader have been doing and managed to stay in power for decades.

And of course, “Birds of a feather flock together,” sort of relationship to counter international condemnation and isolation.

And as such, seen by the recent ability of the junta to hold on and conducting selected military push back against its opponents, using airstrikes and artillery bombardment with help of Russia and China, the war will likely go on for some more years, if not decades.