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Burma withstands West's embargo wit



Subject: Burma withstands West's embargo with Chinese military  aid 

Burma withstands West's embargo with Chinese military  aid 
  Ostracized for suppressing dissent, the Asian country still finds supporters. 

        6/6/97                     By R. Jeffrey Smith 
                            WASHINGTON POST

PYIN-U-LWIN, Burma -- At the beginning of World War II, this small resort
town was a
gateway to the famous Burma Road, a vital supply line for Allied materiel
being shipped into China
for use against the Japanese.

Today the rutted, two-lane highway is still being used to transport
armaments, but the flow has
been reversed: Chinese-made weapons are coming south to the military
government of Burma,
according to Western officials.

Burma's generals became notorious in 1988 for brutally suppressing student
protests, and in 1990
for annulling a democratic election won by an opposition party. Since then,
the United States and
most other Western nations have cut off economic relations with the country,
also known as
Myanmar.

But China has kept its door open. As a result, the Burmese government has
relied heavily on
weaponry imported from China -- and lately from Russia as well -- to keep
its military forces
equipped.

Buying military equipment from China is one of several ways that Burma has
been able to evade
the Western-led embargo. Drug merchants in China also have played a helpful
role in Burma's
continued export of near-record levels of opium gum for heroin production,
and wealthy investors
from a few other Asian nations have been spending just enough money on new
Burmese hotels,
real estate, mining and manufacturing projects to keep the country's economy
afloat. And over the
weekend, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, voted to
allow Burma to join
this summer.

Such economic and political support has ``effectively annulled the West's
attempt to induce
domestic political change through international pressure,'' said Muthiah
Alagappa, a Malaysian
political scientist and senior fellow at the East-West Center in Hawaii.

Besides providing access to weaponry and economic breathing room, Burma's
China connection
also gives it important refuge from the world's disapproval, according to a
diplomat who spoke on
condition of anonymity. ``If they keep deepening the relationship, Burma
will always have China to
turn to'' if needed to veto trade sanctions that might be sought by the U.N.
Security Council, he
said.

Exact figures on China's military trade with Burma are elusive. But the
shipments include hundreds
of millions of dollars worth of tanks, personnel carriers, rockets, mortars,
artillery, assault rifles,
grenade launchers, trucks, attack aircraft and helicopters, according to a
recent analysis by
Andrew Selth, an Australian defense intelligence official.

China also has sold Burma naval vessels, including some armed with cruise
missiles, and has
trained Burmese military personnel. Members of the ruling junta signify the
importance they attach
to this relationship by making a rare public appearance each year at the
Chinese Embassy's
national-day celebration in Rangoon.

Although most artillery and other heavy armaments have been deployed in
rural areas, some of the
Chinese-made tanks and automatic weapons have been used in displays of force
aimed at
dissenters in major cities.

Much of Burma's arms purchases evidently have been financed by China at
discounted interest
rates, according to these sources. But China may also have been paid in
valuable Burmese goods,
such as timber, agricultural products, minerals and gems.