| Thai general warns of Myanmar's might
Military chief says Yangon now has 400,000 armed troops and modern
jets while other countries are cutting down their armed forces
BANGKOK -- Thailand's supreme military commander has warned that
Myanmar's expanding military forces pose a potential threat to
neighbouring Thailand.
"Though posing no threat now, Myanmar could change in the future,"
General Mongkol Ampornpisit said in a National Defence College lecture,
reported yesterday by the Bangkok Post.
"While most countries are downsizing their armed forces, Myanmar keeps
expanding its military capability," Gen Mongkol was quoted as saying.
The armed forces in Myanmar have more than doubled to some 400,000 and
have modernised with everything from small arms to jet fighters from China
since the current government took power in 1988 after crushing protests
against an earlier military regime.
Gen Mongkol's comments underlined the fracture in relations between the
two countries.
Ties had been cordial until five rebels laid siege on the Myanmar
embassy in Bangkok last October.
When Thailand freed the armed rebels in return for the release of
hostages, Myanmar responded by closing its long land border with Thailand
for two months.
Gen Mongkol said that concern about the expansion in Myanmar's military
had been voiced at a recent meeting of supreme commanders from the
Asia-Pacific region, the Post reported.
Thailand's armed forces have faced huge cuts since the economy went
into recession in 1997.
It is planning to cut 46,000 troops to reach a 190,000-strong military
by 2007, including a 25 percent reduction in the top-heavy ranks of
colonels and generals.
Most Myanmar troops are engaged in fighting insurgents and enforcing
the government's rule.
Myanmar claims that Thailand is allowing insurgents along the border to
seek refuge on Thai soil. -- AP
|