The Australian Federal Police has revealed it is continuing to engage with the Myanmar police force since a military coup threw the country into turmoil.
The disclosure came during Senate estimates when Greens Senator Jordon Steele-John was grilling the AFP about its dealings with the South-East Asian nation.
Myanmar's democratically-elected leaders were overthrown during a military takeover on February 1 last year.
"There has been ongoing engagement with the Myanmar police," AFP deputy commissioner Ian McCartney said.
"Sorry?" Senator Steele-John responded.
"Not in relation to training and capacity building, but in relation to matters of interest to AFP, particularly in relation to drug trafficking," the deputy commissioner said.
"In terms of context, 70 per cent of the methamphetamine that ends up on the streets of Australia comes from Myanmar.
"So there has been some engagement, it's been restricted. It's been under the auspices of an agreement that we've entered into with DFAT, to ensure that whatever engagement is strictly restricted to those issues."
The ABC has approached the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade for comment.
AFP commissioner Reece Kershaw added the amount of drugs was a national security issue and "that intelligence is critical".
Australia has scaled back its engagement in other fields since the coup – the government suspended military cooperation with the junta in March last year, and downgraded its diplomatic presence in May this year, appointing a Charge d'Affaires instead of an ambassador to Myanmar.
Since the coup, more than 2,400 people have been killed by the junta according to the Assistance Association of Political Prisoners.
More than 16,000 have been arrested, including Australian economist Sean Turnell, a former advisor to Aung San Suu Kyi who was sentenced to three years in prison.
"Myanmar's police force has been accused of committing vile human rights abuses, including crimes against humanity," Senator Steele-John told the ABC.
"Any ongoing relationship between Australian government and the Myanmar policy force is simply unacceptable.
"The Australian government should be sanctioning Myanmar's military and related entities, not working with them."
The government has repeatedly said economic sanctions against the military regime are under active consideration, but it has introduced no new sanctions since the coup.
'It's important to have back channels'
The Golden Triangle – the apex of Myanmar, Thailand and Laos – is notorious for drug trafficking.
John Coyne, head of the strategic policing law enforcement program at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said calls to cut ties altogether "ignores the complex nature of international relations and transnational serious organised crime".
"It's really, really important, even when we have states like Myanmar or Iran … to have back channels – the capacity to still communicate diplomatically during really difficult times," Dr Coyne said.
"In some cases, the police that we're dealing with are heavily involved in corruption … they have connections to organised crime.
"So it's a very delicate engagement process. It's not a binary."
He added that the price of a yaba tablet – a mix of low purity meth and caffeine – is just 75 cents and the wholesale price for meth per kilo "has never been lower".
"Despite these record seizures, the level of production has gone through the roof," he said.
"The only way to combat that is through cooperation between law enforcement agencies sharing intelligence. Now, that's a perilous activity.
"Not having that intelligence means that more drugs come streaming into the country here in Australia.
"You've got to remember when the AFP are operating and cooperating with [South-East Asian] authorities … they're also stopping drugs from entering into all of those other countries as well."
But activist group Justice For Myanmar called on Australia to "immediately cease all cooperation with the junta and its police".
"The Myanmar police are part of the military cartel that commits crimes against humanity and enriches itself from money laundering, drug trafficking and human trafficking," JFM spokesperson Yadanar Maung said.
"By sharing intelligence with this criminal cartel, the AFP are emboldening extreme acts of violence against the Myanmar people defending democracy, and failing to address the root causes of drug trafficking in Myanmar, which is the military's systemic corruption and total impunity.
"Australia can work to resolve its meth problem by recognising the NUG [National Unity Government] and supporting the efforts of the people of Myanmar to dismantle the military cartel and build a federal democracy."
The group also slammed a decision to appoint Myanmar as the chair of the ASEAN Air Chiefs Conference, saying ASEAN was "knowingly and actively aiding and abetting the junta to continue its war crimes" in the wake of deadly air strikes against civilians.
Australia's Defence Ministry was also criticised recently after it was revealed they would co-host junta members at a high-level ASEAN military medicine conference in Brunei.
Myanmar's embassy in Canberra has been approached for comment.
