15/5/98.AAP:BURMESE ARMY'S NON-NEUT

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AAP NEWS: BURMESE ARMY'S NON-NEUTRAL STANCE WITH CHINA CONTRIBUTES
	  GREATER SECURITY CONCERNS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA.
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03/05/98:AFP--CHINA BIGGER THREAT TO INDIA THAN PAKISTAN: MINISTER
06/05/98:AFP--INDIAN DEFENCE MINISTER IN DEEP OVER CHINA
10/05/98:AFP--CHINA STEPPING UP DEFENCE PRESENCE NEAR INDIAN COAST
12/05/98:REUTERS--CHINA STAYS SILENT ON INDIA NUCLEAR TESTS
15/05/98:AFP--IF WE'RE ATTACKED WE'LL USE NUCLEAR BOMB - INDIAN PM
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        ASIA: CHINA BIGGER THREAT TO INDIA THAN PAKISTAN: MINISTER
INDIA DEFENCE
   NEW DELHI, May 3 AFP - India's Defence Minister George Fernandes 
said today the country faced a bigger threat from China than from 
Pakistan and New Delhi would make nuclear weapons if it ran out of 
options.
           "China is potential threat number one," the defence minister 
told the private Home TV network.
           "The potential threat from China is greater than that from 
Pakistan and any person who is concerned about India's security 
must agree with that fact," it quoted Fernandes as saying.
           His statement came hard on the heels of the first-ever visit to 
India by a chief of the Chinese army, General Fu Quanyou.
           India exploded a nuclear device in 1974. It fought a brief but 
bitter border war with China in 1962 which led to a 14-year 
diplomatic freeze.
           India has also fought three wars with Pakistan since 1947.
           Replying to questions about a supposed build-up of Chinese 
military around India, Fernandes said Beijing had deployed its 
nuclear missiles in Tibet.
           "China has its nuclear weapons stockpiled in Tibet right along 
India's borders ... "
           Fernandes also said Chinese military airfields in Tibet had been 
extended in the last six months.
           He said there was "a lot of naval activity" off the coast of 
Burma, including the construction of harbours on islands owned by 
Burma where Chinese ships could be berthed.
           "And their (China's) senior officials have said that the Indian 
Ocean is not India's ocean. There is no doubt in my mind that 
China's fast-expanding navy, which will be the biggest in this part 
of the world, will be getting into the Indian Ocean fairly soon."
           Fernandes, a firebrand socialist in India's new coalition 
government, also said China was training Burma's army and it had 
set up a "massive electronic surveillance establishment" on Burma's 
Coco Islands on the northern tip of India's Andaman and Nicobar 
islands.
           "These are Burmese territory. China has taken them on loan. 
Already there is massive electronic surveillance establishment 
which the Chinese have installed and which is monitoring everything 
in India.
           "There are moves to convert that into a major naval base which 
would be a direct threat to us," he said.
           Sino-Indian tensions have eased following a series of high-level 
visits which began in 1988 but disputes over their border persist.
           India says China still holds 40,000 square kilometres of its 
territory at Aksai Chin in Kashmir. China lays claim to a swathe of 
Indian territory in the far eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh.
           Fernandes, speaking about India's policy on China, said: "I 
think there is a reluctance to face the reality that China's 
intentions need to be questioned.
           "This is where our country has made mistakes in the past. We 
made those mistakes in the early 1950s. We paid the price in the 
1960s. And I think things have not changed."
           Later, talking to reporters in New Delhi Fernandes said talks 
with China and Pakistan should be carried on to reach a "decisive 
stage" to resolve contentious issues and establish peace in the 
sub-continent.
           "India is against war and believes in peace. Discussing 
confidence building measures with our immediate neighbours are not 
enough.
           "We want negotiations to be carried on to a decisive stage while 
discussing these measures."
           On India's nuclear policy he told the television network that 
India "is taking the inevitable next step. We have come to a point 
where we believe we need to make a review of the defence policy."
           Fernandes, however, added India would build nuclear weapons only 
after a strategic review.
           "If those threat perceptions are as one visualises them to be 
following the defence review, then you have no option," he said of 
India's claims of military threats from Pakistan and China.
           "If the review leads us to a point where it becomes obvious it 
is time now to exercise the nuclear option, then we will exercise 
it."
           India refuses to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty or 
the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, describing them as 
discriminatory between the nuclear haves and have-nots.
           AFP shb

        ASIA: INDIAN DEFENCE MINISTER IN DEEP OVER CHINA
INDIA FERNANDES (NEWS ANALYSIS)
   By Pratap Chakravarty
           NEW DELHI, May 6 AFP - Two decades after winning his greatest 
battle - booting Coca Cola out of India - George Fernandes has 
turned more rebellious as the country's new and outspoken defence 
minister.
           The 68-year-old veteran socialist finds himself even at odds 
with the ruling Hindu nationalists with explosive comments that 
China, India's giant northern neighbour, is New Delhi's "number one 
enemy".
           The remark has evoked strong protests from China's foreign 
ministry as well as across a wide political spectrum in India. 
Indian opposition parties have accused Fernandes of endangering 
Sino-Indian ties.
           Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, who also holds the 
external affairs portfolio, is likely to contest Fernandes's 
anti-Chinese salvo, analysts said.
           "These comments cannot be taken as the government's opinion but 
are a product of a rebellious mind," said an analyst from the 
Institute of Defence Studies and Analysis (IDSA).
           Former Indian prime minister Inder Kumar Gujral yesterday 
described Fernandes as "temperamentally an adventurist" and warned 
that his "utterances and chauvinism" were straining India's foreign 
policy.
           The maverick Fernandes, however, remains unfazed.
           He told a television network on Sunday that "the potential 
threat from China is greater than that from Pakistan and any person 
concerned about India's security must agree with that fact".
           He said Beijing had stockpiled nuclear weapons and extended 
military airfields in Tibet on India's northern border during the 
past six months. He said China was also training neighbouring 
Burma's army.
           Last month, he claimed China had built a military airstrip in 
Indian territory, a statement Vajpayee was publicly forced to 
refute as incorrect.
           Fernandes, a Christian who studied philosophy and became a 
politician although his father wanted him to be a priest, is a 
long-standing critic of China and the most vocal Indian supporter 
of Tibetan independence.
           He has also supported the movement for democracy in Burma and 
the Tamil cause in Sri Lanka.
           Last year, he defied an Indian government ban and organised a 
meeting at his house that was attended by prominent Indian 
supporters of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), which is 
outlawed in India.
           When he was named India's defence minister in March, many were 
worried that Fernandes may incorporate his anti-China agenda in his 
official pronouncements - a fear which has come true.
           The IDSA analyst said Fernandes's anti-Beijing statements - 
never aired by any Indian minister since the 1962 Sino-Indian 
border war - stemmed from his belief that communist China was evil.
           Fernandes started his political career as a trade unionist in 
his southern home state of Karnataka, before assuming control of 
major transport unions in Bombay in the 1960s and 1970s.
           One of the leading lights of the Indian socialist movement, he 
remained a strong critic of Marxism and Indian communist parties.
           He was first elected to parliament in 1967. In 1977, as the 
country's industry minister he kicked out US giant Coca Cola from 
India after the firm refused to make public its secret formula.
           Fernandes was among the thousands of opposition activists jailed 
during an "emergency" regime in 1975-77. He was elected to 
parliament by a large margin in the 1977 polls even while he was in 
jail.
           In 1974, he organised a crippling railway strike in India.
           His Samata (Equality) Party tied up with Hindu nationalists 
during the 1996 elections, but the alliance held power for only 13 
days. This time, its 12 members of parliament are crucial to the 
government's survival.
           AFP gr

        ASIA: CHINA STEPPING UP DEFENCE PRESENCE NEAR INDIAN COAST
INDIA DEFENCE (CARRIED EARLIER)
   NEW DELHI, May 10 AFP - India has "crucial evidence" of a strong 
Chinese naval presence in Burma and Chinese vessels are visiting 
islands near the Indian coast to monitor signals traffic, a daily 
newspaper said today.
           The Pioneer newspaper quoted unidentified Indian officials as 
saying they had proof that at least 42 Chinese naval engineers and 
operations officers had been deployed to seven Burmese naval bases 
in the Bay of Bengal.
           They said the bases, including the Coco islands, the Hainggyi 
islands and the Ayeryarwady naval base, were off India's east 
coast.
           "Senior officials said the Chinese have been building up the 
pressure by sending vessels to intercept Indian signals 
communications," the Pioneer said, the latest siting occured in 
March.
           India's new Defence Minister George Fernandes has sparked a 
storm by terming China as India's number one threat. He has accused 
it of building up naval bases in Burmese territory and of helping 
Pakistan develop a surface-to-surface missile.
           China has denied being a threat to India. Fernandes toned down 
his remarks but said there could be no "let-up" of troops deployed 
on the Indo-Chinese border.
           Fernandes also accused Beijing of stockpiling nuclear weapons 
and extending military airfields in Tibet to India's north during 
the past six months, adding that China was also training Burma's 
army.
           India and China fought a brief border war in 1962, leading to a 
virtual freeze in ties for 14 years. Relations have been on the 
mend and several high-level visits exchanged. Last month the 
People's Liberation Army chief General Fu Quanyou went to India for 
talks.
           India says China still holds 40,000 square kilometres of its 
territory in Kashmir. China lays claim to a swathe of Indian 
territory in the far eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh.
           Fernandes is a long-standing critic of China and of the military 
junta in Burma and one of the most vocal Indian supporters of 
Tibetan independence.
           AFP /cjh

        ASIA: CHINA STAYS SILENT ON INDIA NUCLEAR TESTS
INDIA NUCLEAR CHINA
   BEIJING, May 12 Reuters - China stayed silent today on India's 
announcement that it had conducted three underground nuclear tests.
           The spokesman's office at the Chinese foreign ministry had no 
immediate comment. "I have taken down your question," a spokesman 
said. A foreign ministry spokesman is scheduled to hold a news 
briefing at 2.45 pm (1645 AEST).
           India's ambassador to China, Vijay Kunhianandan Nambiar, said he 
had not heard from the Chinese.
           "I'm not aware that they have any plans. I don't know. They have 
not summoned me," Nambiar said when asked if the Chinese foreign 
ministry had contacted him.
           China's official news agency Xinhua reported the tests but did 
not comment.
           Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee announced yesterday 
that three underground nuclear tests were conducted in the western 
state of Rajasthan.
           The announcement stunned the world and triggered widespread 
condemnation.
           China -- the last declared nuclear power after Britain, the 
United States, Russia and France to announce a halt to testing -- 
had been the target of world criticism itself until 1996.
           On July 29, 1996, China conducted what it said would be its last 
nuclear test before a self-imposed moratorium that took effect the 
following day.
           In September 1996, China signed the Comprehensive Test Ban 
Treaty at the United Nations and imposed a moratorium on future 
nuclear testing.
           India's nuclear tests come two weeks after a visit by China's 
military chief Fu Quanyou. Official Indian statements after Fu's 
meetings were peppered with sober and conciliatory language.
           China fought a brief border war with India in 1962, but 
relations have warmed in recent years.
           But Sino-Indian ties were shaken this month when Indian Defence 
Minister George Fernandes said India had long focused on the threat 
from Pakistan while ignoring the equal danger posed by China.
           Fernandes said China had built a sophisticated electronic 
surveillance base in Burma's Coco Islands. Burma denied the 
allegation.
           He also said China was beefing up airfields in Tibet to take 
supersonic fighters capable of striking at India's borders.
           China expressed "utmost regret and resentment" at Fernandes' 

comments and warned they could sabotage friendly relations.
           In April, Fernandes accused China of providing missile 
technology TO Pakistan after Islamabad announced it had tested its 
longest-range missile capable of striking targets deep inside 
India.
           Beijing, which has long enjoyed a close military relationship 
with Pakistan, denied the allegation.
           REUTERS KR

        ASIA: IF WE'RE ATTACKED WE'LL USE NUCLEAR BOMB - INDIAN PM
INDIA VAJPAYEE
   NEW DELHI, May 15 AFP - Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari 
Vajpayee warned today that India would not hesitate to use nuclear 
weapons if it was attacked.
           The premier told some 500 Hindu supporters, "We won't utilise 
our nuclear weapons against others.
           "But if we are attacked, we will not hesitate in using them for 
defence."
           Vajpayee also appealed to Western countries not to impose 
sanctions against India.
           "Before taking such a step I hope those people will re-think."
           The UN Security Council yesterday strongly deplored India's 
nuclear tests and urged maximum restraint by all states to avert a 
dangerous arms race in Asia.
           In a statement adopted by consensus among the 15 members, the 
council said it "strongly deplored" India's triple underground 
explosions on Monday, followed by two more on Wednesday, "despite 
overwhelming international concern and protests".
           The council pointed out that the tests flew in the face of a de 
facto moratorium in place since the 1996 adoption of the 
Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, and urged India and other states to 
sign the pact.
           AFP wjf