National Defence and Security Council

National Defence and Security Council
အမျိုးသား ကာကွယ်ရေးနှင့် လုံခြုံရေး ကောင်စီ
[əmjóðá kàkwɛ̀jé n̥ḭɴ lòʊɴdʑòʊɴjé kàʊɴsì]
Agency overview
Formed31 March 2011 (2011-03-31)
TypeNational security council
JurisdictionGovernment of Myanmar
HeadquartersNaypyidaw
Agency executive
Politics of Myanmar
Constitution
Government
Legislature (dissolved)
Judiciary
Recent elections
Administrative divisions
Foreign relations
Exiled government
Related topics
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The National Defence and Security Council (Burmese: အမျိုးသား ကာကွယ်ရေးနှင့် လုံခြုံရေး ကောင်စီ, Burmese pronunciation: [əmjóðá kàkwɛ̀jé n̥ḭɴ lòʊɴdʑòʊɴjé kàʊɴsì]; abbreviated NDSC) is an eleven-member national security council responsible for security and defence affairs in Myanmar.[1] Though the president is the chief executive of the government of Myanmar, the 2008 Constitution reserves certain important executive powers for the NDSC and certain actions of the president and the Tatmadaw (military) require approval by the NDSC. Of the 11 members, the commander-in-chief of defence services appoints 5 members and controls 6 votes.[2][3][4][5][6] The NDSC's existence is enshrined in Chapter V of the Constitution of Myanmar,[7] and it was formed on 31 March 2011.[8][3]

A meeting of the NDSC can only be called by the president, which was never done during the National League for Democracy's 2016–2021 time in power.[1] After President Win Myint refused to call a meeting of the NDSC to address the Tatmadaw’s baseless allegations of massive voter fraud in the 2020 general election, the Tatmadaw under the leadership of Commander-in-Chief Min Aung Hlaing executed a coup on 1 February 2021, removing Win Myint and installing Myint Swe as Acting President so he could call a meeting of the NDSC and transfer state power to Min Aung Hlaing. The NDSC has since continued to serve as the purported basis of legitimacy for Min Aung Hlaing’s military dictatorship.[9]

The NDSC's constitutionally enshrined roles include expansive powers:

  • Recommend pardonees for the President to grant amnesty[7][10]
  • Approve the President's act of severing foreign diplomatic relations[7]
  • Coordinate with the President to take military action against aggressors[7]
  • Approve the Tatmadaw's ability to conscript citizens[7]
  • Nominate a candidate for Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services, to be appointed by the president[7]
  • Coordinate with the President in declaring a state of emergency[7]
  • Exercise legislative, executive and judiciary powers during a state of emergency[7]
  • Exercise sovereign power during a state of emergency[7]
  1. ^ a b Slow, Oliver (2023). Return of the junta: why Myanmar's military must go back to the barracks. London New York Oxford New Delhi Sydney: Bloomsbury Academic. p. 11. ISBN 978-1-350-28965-9.
  2. ^ Kipgen, Nehginpao (April 2016). "Militarization of Politics in Myanmar and Thailand". International Studies. 53 (2): 153–172. doi:10.1177/0020881717728156.
  3. ^ a b Htun Aung Gyaw (21 February 2014). "Myanmar's constitutional crisis reaching boiling point". The Nation. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
  4. ^ Sithu Aung Myint (20 May 2015). "Coalition government: just a fantasy?". Myanmar Times. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
  5. ^ MacDonald, Adam P (1 May 2013). "The Tatmadaw's new position in Myanmar politics". East Asia Forum. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
  6. ^ Weiss, Stanley A (4 March 2013). "Myanmar: A nation at war with itself". Myanmar Times. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Constitution of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar" (PDF). Ministry of Information. September 2008. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
  8. ^ "Myanmar forms national defense, security council". People's Daily. 1 April 2011. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
  9. ^ Noel, Thibaut (March 2022). "Unconstitutionality of the 2021 Coup in Myanmar" (PDF). International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
  10. ^ Soe Than Lynn (24 October 2011). "More amnesties planned, says Thura U Shwe Mann". Myanmar Times. Retrieved 27 June 2015.