Ex-Blackwater boss moves into Myanmar security
His firm will provide protection for int'l investors
A security firm with former US military contractor Erik Prince on its board has moved into Myanmar to provide protection services for international investors, the company told AFP, as it weathers backlash to revelations over planned work in China's restive Xinjiang region.
Hong Kong-headquartered Frontier Services Group specialises in providing security and logistics for firms working in risky and conflict-hit regions.
One of the company's board members and its deputy chairman is former Navy SEAL Prince, co-founder of notorious private security firm Blackwater and the brother of US Education Secretary Betsy DeVos.
Employees of Blackwater -- which was later renamed -- played a controversial role during Washington's wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, including the 2007 killing of 14 unarmed Iraqi civilians.
AFP reported in February that FSG signed a preliminary deal with China to build a training centre in Xinjiang, where Uighur Muslims have been targeted in an unprecedented security crackdown, including mass incarcerations.
A company spokesman confirmed it was now also operating in Myanmar.
"(FSG) has established a joint-venture security company in Myanmar and obtained a security licence to provide international-standard security services to international investors in Myanmar, including those from China, Japan and Thailand," he said Wednesday.
He declined to give additional details and it remains unclear which companies FSG would work with and where.
The firm has been active in Myanmar since at least mid-June last year.
Photos of an FSG-run "Personal Protection Specialist Training Graduation Ceremony" were posted then on the Facebook page of a former senior military official.
Many large investment projects in Myanmar are in the restive borderlands where the military is waging war against various ethnic rebel armies.