Tatmadaw

The Tatmadaw (Burmese: တပ်မတော်; MLCTS: tap ma. taw), is the official name of the armed forces of Myanmar (Burma). It is administered by the Ministry of Defence and composed of the Army, the Navy and the Air Force. Auxiliary services include the Myanmar Police Force, the People's Militia Units and until 2013 the Frontier Forces, locally known as Na Sa Kha.

Currently, there is no military draft. Thus, all service personnel are theoretically volunteers, but the People's Militia Law allows for conscription if the President considers it necessary for Myanmar's defence that the provisions of the law be activated. In practice, it has been claimed that the Tatmadaw conscripts adults and children and uses civilians as forced labour and even human mine-sweepers. The Tatmadaw has been engaged in a bitter battle with ethnic insurgents and the narco-armies since the country gained its independence from the United Kingdom in 1948. However, in a 2014 survey conducted by the International Republican Institute across all Myanmar demographics shows military is the most favorable institution with 84% of respondents saying either "very favorable" or "favorable" ahead of other institutions such as media, government and Burmese opposition.

The military proposed a defence budget of K 2.36 trillion (USD 2.39 billion) for 2014-15 and was approved by the Parliament. The incumbent Minister for Defence Wai Lwin revealed at a Parliament section on 28 October 2014 that 46.2 percent of the budget is spent on personnel cost, 32.89 percent on operation & procurement, 14.49 percent on construction related projects and 2.76 percent on health and education.