Relationship dossier
Israel
Myanmar
Relationship assessment
Historical military cooperation complicated by controversy over Israeli arms sales amid Myanmar's Rohingya crisis
Israel toward Myanmar
+25Israel maintained close ties with Myanmar in the early post-independence period and later supplied arms to its military. Israeli arms sales drew criticism amid the Rohingya crisis, and legal proceedings in Israel resulted in restrictions affecting exports.
Myanmar toward Israel
+20Myanmar's governments maintained relations with Israel and Myanmar's military purchased Israeli arms. The extent and continuity of Myanmar's practical cooperation with Israel beyond these ties are unclear.
Overall relationship
+15The relationship has included sustained diplomatic and military engagement, particularly in earlier periods and through arms trade. That cooperation has been complicated by international criticism of Myanmar's military conduct toward the Rohingya and controversy in Israel over arms exports. The overall pattern is one of meaningful but limited cooperation rather than a close, comprehensive partnership.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
Israel and Myanmar have had concrete military and diplomatic engagement, including Israeli arms sales to Myanmar and a period of close relations in the early decades after Myanmar's independence. Israeli arms sales became controversial amid the Myanmar military's treatment of the Rohingya, and legal proceedings in Israel led to restrictions on arms-export information and licensing. The breadth and continuity of practical cooperation are unclear.
Areas of tension
- Israeli arms sales to Myanmar amid international condemnation of the Myanmar military's treatment of the Rohingya.
Key developments
Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion visited Myanmar during a period of close bilateral relations.
Israeli arms sales to Myanmar's military became the subject of legal proceedings and restrictions in Israel amid the Rohingya crisis.
Major uncertainties
- The scale and implementation of Israeli arms-export restrictions concerning Myanmar are unclear.
- The extent of Myanmar's more recent bilateral cooperation with Israel is unclear.