`The Australian government is deeply concerned by the information that the Myanmar military has once again sought to gain control of Myanmar and has arrested State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint,` Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne said today.

The statement was made by Secretary of State Payne after a senior spokesman for Myanmar’s National League for Democracy (NLD) party confirmed that Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi, senior party officials and President Win Myint had been killed by soldiers.

`We call on the Myanmar military to respect the rule of law, resolve disputes through legal mechanisms, and immediately release all civilian leaders and those illegally arrested,` it said.

White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the US also warned Myanmar after receiving information that the country’s military arrested Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi.

Myanmar State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi attended the trial at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands, in December 2019.

Myo Nyunt, spokesman for the NLD, said Ms. Suu Kyi and President Win Myint are being `detained` in the capital Naypyidaw.

Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi and Myanmar leaders were arrested after days of escalating tensions between the civilian government and Myanmar military forces.

John Sifton, Asia director of Human Rights Watch, called on the US and other countries to impose `direct and severe economic sanctions` on Myanmar’s military leaders and economic interests.

Murray Hiebert, Southeast Asia expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, said that the situation in Myanmar could be a new challenge for President Joe Biden’s administration.

`The Biden administration has said it supports democracy and human rights. But top officers of the Myanmar military have been sanctioned, so it is unclear what the US can do quickly,` Hiebert

Ms. Suu Kyi, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991, was hailed by the people of Myanmar and the world as a symbol of the fight for freedom when she stood up against the military government despite being under house arrest for 15 years.

The election of her NLD party in 2015 brought hope for change in the country.

However, in recent years, Suu Kyi’s international reputation has suffered due to allegations of ethnic conflict with Myanmar’s Muslim Rohingya community.