Jaswant Singh arrives Burma today

[mizzima@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

--------------BBFC3CD17CFA4F667349EB51
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

                   Jaswant Singh arrives Burma today

                 India, Myanmar strategic pact on anvil

Hindustan Times, (New Delhi)
February 13, 2001

Shishir Gupta
(Imphal, February 12)

By visiting Myanmar, External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh is all set
to forge a strategic tie-up with Yangon that is expected to yield key
security benefits to the two neighbours.

Plagued by decades-old insurgency problem on the 1643-kilometre long
Indo-Myanmar border, both sides have a shared interest in neutralizing
the formidable insurgent network in the entire region.

During his three-day visit to Myanmar, External Affairs Minister Jaswant
Singh is expected to make concerted efforts to further seek Yangon's
cooperation in battling insurgency, which is facilitated by the ethnic
commonalities between North-East and western Myanmar. India has taken a
number of concrete measures to bring North-East insurgents on the
negotiating table through formal and informal channels.

Already there is a ceasefire holding between New Delhi and the National
Socialist Council of Nagaland (I-M) in Nagaland. Besides, there have
been Government efforts to bring NSCN (K), ULFA, PLA and Bodo insurgent
groups into mainstream society. The ruling State Peace and Development
Council (SPDC) in Myanmar, on its part, has worked out a somewhat
fragile ceasefire or peace agreements with 15 armed groups including the
Kachin Independent Army.

While this has brought peace to northern and eastern parts of Myanmar,
the country still has not been able to control Karen, Arakanese and Chin
insurgents active on its border with India. These groups are a matter of
serious security concern to both the countries as they provide shelter
as well as arms to the Indian insurgents. It is this north-west hilly
frontier of Myanmar, which is used to channel narcotics and arms to
India via the Cox's Bazaar (Bangladesh) route. The drug money is later
used to fund insurgency in the region.

India has discussed the issue of insurgents camps located in Myanmar
with Yangon and both sides apparently have agreed to take coordinated
action against these groups on the basis of actionable intelligence.

For instance, the NSCN (K), whose cadres are Myanmar based Hemei Nagas,
have camps in Hongyat, Chamyu, Longko, Bonyo and Wayok areas across
Nagaland.

The NSCN(I-M), UNLF and PLA groups are known to have camps around Tamu,
Mintha, Somra, Namphalong and the Chikka-Phaisat stretch across Manipur.

In fact, in order to strike at the core of insurgency issue, the two
sides have intensively debated about taking the Thailand government on
board, as it is center of activity for India and Myanmar insurgent
groups. The other reason is that majority of arms purchases by these
insurgent groups are made in Bangkok, Ranong and Chiang Mai in Thailand
and are made available to the Indian insurgents via the Bangladesh
route.

LTTE operatives, who transit through Myanmar exclusive economic zone
with state-of-the art high-speed boats, normally undertake the arms
supplies.

The other option used by the Indian insurgents such as ULFA is to
purchase arms from Myanmar insurgent groups, who have signed a peace
agreement with Yangon.

However, in the past two years there have been efforts by Myanmar
Government to ensure that their territory is not used by insurgents to
target India.

In fact, last February the Myanmar Army conducted operations against
insurgents in Onamyu area, killing six NSCN (K) and 10 ULFA cadres,
besides recovering arms from their camps. The two sides have also set
into place-institutionalized mechanisms on the Indo-Myanmar border for
improved communication and exchange of relevant information about
insurgent activity. The confidence that the armies of the two countries
enjoy with other on the insurgency issue is reflected in III Corps
Commander Lt General T.S. Shergil going over to Myanmar for the
inauguration of Tamu-Kalemyo road and perhaps to exchange notes on
insurgency with Major General Soe Win, North-Western Army Commander.


India for gaining foothold in Myanmar to counter China

The Hindu (New Delhi)
February 13, 2001

By Amit Baruah

IMPHAL, FEB. 12 The External Affairs Minister, Mr. Jaswant Singh, will
cross the international border into Myanmar tomorrow to begin what could
prove to be the most serious engagement with Yangon since the visit of
the late Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi, in December 1987.

Mr. Singh, who has been invited by his Myanmar counterpart, Mr. U. Wing
Aung, will inaugurate a 130 km road built by India, apart from holding
meetings with the top leadership of the State Peace and Development
Council.

He is likely to call on the SPDC Chairman, Gen. Than Shwe, the
intelligence chief, Lt. Gen. Khin Nyunt, apart from holding talks with
Mr. Aung.

Mr. Singh's visit has been preceded by contacts at various levels, the
most significant being the visit by the Myanmar Army Chief, Gen. Maung
Aye, to India last November.

It is a known fact that India is keen on combating the growing influence
of the Chinese in Myanmar.

A journalist and writer on Myanmar, Mr. Bertil Lintner, claims that arms
worth between one and two billion dollars have been delivered by China
to Myanmar in the 1990s.

In a recent paper, Mr. Lintner said: ``Of particular concern to India
has been Chinese support for upgrading Burma (Myanmar's) naval
facilities - including at least four electronic listening posts along
the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea: Man- aung on an island off the
coast of western Arakan, or Rakhine, State; Hainggyi Island in the
Irrawady delta, Zadetkyi (St. Matthew) Island just north of the entrance
to the Malacca Strait, and the strategically important Coco Islands just
north of India's Andaman islands....''

According to Mr. Lintner, the Chinese interest (in Myanmar) has
increased after India getting involved in Myanmar. He claims that India
is now supplying non-lethal military equipment to Myanmar, including
uniforms and other combat gear.

He claims, quoting intelligence sources, that the Chinese want to
transport goods from Bhamo on the Irrawady river (close to the Chinese
border) to Minhla, some 1000 km down river. ``From Minhla, a road is
being built across the Arakan Yoma mountain range, running via An to
Kyaukpyu on the coast. Kyaukpyu has been chosen as the site for a new
deep water port.''

Kyaukpyu, which lies at the northern end of the offshore island of
Ramree in Combermere Bay, an inlet of the Bay of Bengal, is 400 km
north-west of Yangon. It has an excellent natural harbour and is a
regular port of call for steamers in the rice trade between Yangon and
Calcutta.

There are also reports of tens of thousands of illegal Chinese migrants
having entered northern Myanmar and taken control of businesses there.
This, apparently, has also caused tensions with the local population.

The Chinese, clearly, are far ahead of India in Myanmar. Rather than
looking at the issue in terms of ``strategic competition'', India must
do whatever it can to promote trade, build infrastructure and have a
cordial relationship with Myanmar at all levels.

The ``strategic direction'' taken by China to it's neighbourhood was
spelt out in no uncertain terms by the Chinese Premier, Mr. Zhu Rongji,
at the ASEAN-China summit in Singapore in November.

``In the new century, China will enter a stage of developing a
well-to-do society in an all-round manner accelerating the modernisation
drive. To achieve this grand objective that we have set for us, we need
a surrounding environment conducive to stability and development,'' Mr.
Zhu said.



--------------BBFC3CD17CFA4F667349EB51
Content-Type: text/html; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

<!doctype html public "-//w3c//dtd html 4.0 transitional//en">
<html>

<center><b><font color="#0000FF"><font size=+3>Jaswant Singh arrives Burma
today</font></font></b>
<p><b><u><font color="#FF0000"><font size=+2>India, Myanmar strategic pact
on anvil</font></font></u></b></center>

<p><font color="#CC33CC"><font size=+1>Hindustan Times, (New Delhi)</font></font>
<br><font color="#CC33CC"><font size=+1>February 13, 2001</font></font>
<p><font color="#800000"><font size=+1>Shishir Gupta</font></font>
<br><font color="#CC33CC"><font size=+1>(Imphal, February 12)</font></font>
<p><font size=+1>By visiting Myanmar, External Affairs Minister Jaswant
Singh is all set to forge a strategic tie-up with Yangon that is expected
to yield key security benefits to the two neighbours.</font>
<p><font size=+1>Plagued by decades-old insurgency problem on the 1643-kilometre
long Indo-Myanmar border, both sides have a shared interest in neutralizing
the formidable insurgent network in the entire region.</font>
<p><font size=+1>During his three-day visit to Myanmar, External Affairs
Minister Jaswant Singh is expected to make concerted efforts to further
seek Yangon's cooperation in battling insurgency, which is facilitated
by the ethnic commonalities between North-East and western Myanmar. India
has taken a number of concrete measures to bring North-East insurgents
on the negotiating table through formal and informal channels.</font>
<p><font size=+1>Already there is a ceasefire holding between New Delhi
and the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (I-M) in Nagaland. Besides,
there have been Government efforts to bring NSCN (K), ULFA, PLA and Bodo
insurgent groups into mainstream society. The ruling State Peace and Development
Council (SPDC) in Myanmar, on its part, has worked out a somewhat fragile
ceasefire or peace agreements with 15 armed groups including the Kachin
Independent Army.</font>
<p><font size=+1>While this has brought peace to northern and eastern parts
of Myanmar, the country still has not been able to control Karen, Arakanese
and Chin insurgents active on its border with India. These groups are a
matter of serious security concern to both the countries as they provide
shelter as well as arms to the Indian insurgents. It is this north-west
hilly frontier of Myanmar, which is used to channel narcotics and arms
to India via the Cox's Bazaar (Bangladesh) route. The drug money is later
used to fund insurgency in the region.</font>
<p><font size=+1>India has discussed the issue of insurgents camps located
in Myanmar with Yangon and both sides apparently have agreed to take coordinated
action against these groups on the basis of actionable intelligence.</font>
<p><font size=+1>For instance, the NSCN (K), whose cadres are Myanmar based
Hemei Nagas, have camps in Hongyat, Chamyu, Longko, Bonyo and Wayok areas
across Nagaland.</font>
<p><font size=+1>The NSCN(I-M), UNLF and PLA groups are known to have camps
around Tamu, Mintha, Somra, Namphalong and the Chikka-Phaisat stretch across
Manipur.</font>
<p><font size=+1>In fact, in order to strike at the core of insurgency
issue, the two sides have intensively debated about taking the Thailand
government on board, as it is center of activity for India and Myanmar
insurgent groups. The other reason is that majority of arms purchases by
these insurgent groups are made in Bangkok, Ranong and Chiang Mai in Thailand
and are made available to the Indian insurgents via the Bangladesh route.</font>
<p><font size=+1>LTTE operatives, who transit through Myanmar exclusive
economic zone with state-of-the art high-speed boats, normally undertake
the arms supplies.</font>
<p><font size=+1>The other option used by the Indian insurgents such as
ULFA is to purchase arms from Myanmar insurgent groups, who have signed
a peace agreement with Yangon.</font>
<p><font size=+1>However, in the past two years there have been efforts
by Myanmar Government to ensure that their territory is not used by insurgents
to target India.</font>
<p><font size=+1>In fact, last February the Myanmar Army conducted operations
against insurgents in Onamyu area, killing six NSCN (K) and 10 ULFA cadres,
besides recovering arms from their camps. The two sides have also set into
place-institutionalized mechanisms on the Indo-Myanmar border for improved
communication and exchange of relevant information about insurgent activity.
The confidence that the armies of the two countries enjoy with other on
the insurgency issue is reflected in III Corps Commander Lt General T.S.
Shergil going over to Myanmar for the inauguration of Tamu-Kalemyo road
and perhaps to exchange notes on insurgency with Major General Soe Win,
North-Western Army Commander.</font>
<br>&nbsp;
<p><b><u><font color="#CC0000"><font size=+2>India for gaining foothold
in Myanmar to counter China</font></font></u></b>
<p><font color="#CC33CC"><font size=+1>The Hindu (New Delhi)</font></font>
<br><font color="#CC33CC"><font size=+1>February 13, 2001</font></font>
<p><font size=+1>By <font color="#800000">Amit Baruah</font></font>
<p><font size=+1><font color="#CC33CC">IMPHAL, FEB. 12</font> The External
Affairs Minister, Mr. Jaswant Singh, will cross the international border
into Myanmar tomorrow to begin what could prove to be the most serious
engagement with Yangon since the visit of the late Prime Minister, Rajiv
Gandhi, in December 1987.</font>
<p><font size=+1>Mr. Singh, who has been invited by his Myanmar counterpart,
Mr. U. Wing Aung, will inaugurate a 130 km road built by India, apart from
holding meetings with the top leadership of the State Peace and Development
Council.</font>
<p><font size=+1>He is likely to call on the SPDC Chairman, Gen. Than Shwe,
the intelligence chief, Lt. Gen. Khin Nyunt, apart from holding talks with
Mr. Aung.</font>
<p><font size=+1>Mr. Singh's visit has been preceded by contacts at various
levels, the most significant being the visit by the Myanmar Army Chief,
Gen. Maung Aye, to India last November.</font>
<p><font size=+1>It is a known fact that India is keen on combating the
growing influence of the Chinese in Myanmar.</font>
<p><font size=+1>A journalist and writer on Myanmar, Mr. Bertil Lintner,
claims that arms worth between one and two billion dollars have been delivered
by China to Myanmar in the 1990s.</font>
<p><font size=+1>In a recent paper, Mr. Lintner said: ``Of particular concern
to India has been Chinese support for upgrading Burma (Myanmar's) naval
facilities - including at least four electronic listening posts along the
Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea: Man- aung on an island off the coast
of western Arakan, or Rakhine, State; Hainggyi Island in the Irrawady delta,
Zadetkyi (St. Matthew) Island just north of the entrance to the Malacca
Strait, and the strategically important Coco Islands just north of India's
Andaman islands....''</font>
<p><font size=+1>According to Mr. Lintner, the Chinese interest (in Myanmar)
has increased after India getting involved in Myanmar. He claims that India
is now supplying non-lethal military equipment to Myanmar, including uniforms
and other combat gear.</font>
<p><font size=+1>He claims, quoting intelligence sources, that the Chinese
want to transport goods from Bhamo on the Irrawady river (close to the
Chinese border) to Minhla, some 1000 km down river. ``From Minhla, a road
is being built across the Arakan Yoma mountain range, running via An to
Kyaukpyu on the coast. Kyaukpyu has been chosen as the site for a new deep
water port.''</font>
<p><font size=+1>Kyaukpyu, which lies at the northern end of the offshore
island of Ramree in Combermere Bay, an inlet of the Bay of Bengal, is 400
km north-west of Yangon. It has an excellent natural harbour and is a regular
port of call for steamers in the rice trade between Yangon and Calcutta.</font>
<p><font size=+1>There are also reports of tens of thousands of illegal
Chinese migrants having entered northern Myanmar and taken control of businesses
there. This, apparently, has also caused tensions with the local population.</font>
<p><font size=+1>The Chinese, clearly, are far ahead of India in Myanmar.
Rather than looking at the issue in terms of ``strategic competition'',
India must do whatever it can to promote trade, build infrastructure and
have a cordial relationship with Myanmar at all levels.</font>
<p><font size=+1>The ``strategic direction'' taken by China to it's neighbourhood
was spelt out in no uncertain terms by the Chinese Premier, Mr. Zhu Rongji,
at the ASEAN-China summit in Singapore in November.</font>
<p><font size=+1>``In the new century, China will enter a stage of developing
a well-to-do society in an all-round manner accelerating the modernisation
drive. To achieve this grand objective that we have set for us, we need
a surrounding environment conducive to stability and development,'' Mr.
Zhu said.</font>
<p>&nbsp;</html>

--------------BBFC3CD17CFA4F667349EB51--