Bangkok Post - Jan 08, 2000Rangoon lets trawler fleet return to fishing groundsPrivate deals signed as junta eases banAchara Ashayagachat Thai trawlers are back in Burmese waters following an easing of the ban imposed after the Oct 1-2 embassy siege, the Thai Overseas Fisheries Association said yesterday. Trawler operators entered into contracts with locally-licensed trawlers after Rangoon relaxed the ban citing eased border tensions, said Wanchai Sangsukiam, the association president. Under the deals, the Thai catch must be landed in Rangoon and subjected to a 10% export tax, said Mr Wanchai. Before Rangoon imposed the ban, Thai operators could fish in Burmese waters under two arrangements. They could pay a monthly concession fee of $100,000 which allowed them to bring their catch to Thailand, or buy a contract from Burmese operators, costing $6-8,000 a month with a condition that the catch be landed in Rangoon. Some 400 Thai trawlers opted for the first option and 100 the second, fishery officials said. The continued suspension of concessions led them to buy contracts from the Burmese. Some operators complained that Foreign Minister Surin Pitsuwan had succeeded only in persuading Rangoon to open its land border during his talks with the junta last month. Mr Wanchai said operating regulations were now being revised and it was likely foreign vessels might be allowed to operate on fishing grounds about 65km offshore. "It will be a good chance for 50-70 deep-sea vessels but of little benefit to the majority," he said. Sources said Burmese leaders were also debating how to balance between earning hard currency and promoting domestic industry. A power struggle between Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt, secretary 1 of the ruling State Peace and Development Committee, and Gen Maung Aye, commander-in-chief, has been settled, the sources said. That left more room for Gen Maung Aye, whose former base controls coastal areas, to handle fishing interests, they added. |