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BURMA RELATED NEWS
- January 11, 2003.
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HEADLINES
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AFP - Myanmar chief pledges to work
with China against drugs
AFP - Singapore, Thai
premiers suggest ARF deal with NKorea NPT withdrawal
ABC online - Burmese military
pledges to fight illicit drug production
PD - Myanmar Head of State
Visits China's Yunnan Province
-------------------------------------------------------------------- Myanmar chief pledges to work
with China against drugs
BEIJING, Jan 11 (AFP) - The head of Myanmar's junta has pledged cooperation with authorities in southwestern China to root out the cultivation of illegal drugs, state media reported Saturday. Senior General Than Shwe made the pledge Friday during a visit to China's Yunnan province, which borders Myanmar, the Xinhua news agency reported. Than Shwe met leaders in the provincial capital Kunming and said he hoped Myanmar and Yunnan could expand cooperation in efforts to replace the cultivation of illegal drugs with that of agricultural crops. He also offered cooperation in the hydro-power sector and the use of natural resources. Many of the ethnic minorities living in the mountainous region along the border between China and Myanmar grow poppies, used to make opium and heroin. The plant brings them more money than legal crops. Than Shwe, who started his visit to China on Monday, also said that Myanmar wanted to improve its roads to Yunnan. China is one of the few countries which maintains political relations with Myanmar and has boosted its economic influence in the country. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Singapore, Thai premiers
suggest ARF deal with NKorea NPT withdrawal
PHUKET, Thailand, Jan 11 (AFP) - Asia's top security group, the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), should tackle North Korea's withdrawal from a key nuclear treaty, the leaders of Singapore and Thailand said Saturday. During an informal summit at this resort island, Singapore's Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong and his Thai counterpart Thaksin Shinawatra expressed deep concern over North Korea's announcement Friday that it had dumped the agreement. "We both shared concern over North Korea's withdrawal from the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and hope that the process of dialogue shall be further continued," Thaksin said. "In this regard we were of the view that the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) could contribute to the dialogue process." Goh said Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign ministers will contact the group's current chairman Cambodia to discuss preparing a statement on the move, which has raised fears for peace on the Korean peninsula. "North Korea leaving the NPT is a serious matter for all of us because it causes great consequences to ASEAN," he told reporters. "The ARF will deal with this matter (at its next meeting) in July. Of course, we hope that before July comes along there will be another movement to defuse the situation in North Korea." Goh arrived in Phuket late Friday for the weekend summit along with his Foreign Affairs Minister S. Jayakumar, Transport Minister Yeo Cheow Tong and Trade and Industry Minister George Yeo. They were joined by Thaksin and his Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai, Finance Minister Somkid Jatusripitak, Transport Minister Suriya Jungrungruangkit and Commerce Minister Adisai Bhotharamik. They kicked off the two-day meeting Saturday, focused on regional security issues and economic cooperation, meeting aboard a ship touring islands off Phuket's coral coastline. The leaders said they discussed the threat of terrorism in Southeast Asia, which has loomed large since October's deadly bombings on Indonesia's resort island of Bali. "We work with our friends in ASEAN in the framework with
the UN, including on the exchange of intelligence. We cooperate in many aspects,
but I cannot talk publicly about what we have done," Thaksin said.
Goh said rather than ostracising their Muslim populations, Southeast Asian nations should develop links through education and dialogue to boost confidence in the communities. The leaders also discussed a Singaporean proposal to develop the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai as a regional aviation hub and launch a "no-frills" budget airline there. The Phuket event is the second in a series of joint
cabinet meetings between Thailand and its neighbours, which began last month
with Malaysia.
The Malaysian summit in the southern city of Songkhla was marred by violent protests over a planned joint pipeline project on the eve of the talks. ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. ARF includes the 10 ASEAN states, along with Australia, Canada, China, the European Union, India, Japan, Mongolia, New Zealand, South Korea, North Korea, Papua New Guinea, Russia and the United States. -------------------------------------------------------------------- ABC Radio Australia
News
Burmese military pledges to fight illicit drug production 11/01/2003 16:25:59 | The head of Burma's military regime has pledged to cooperate with authorities in south-western China to eradicate the cultivation of illegal drugs. General Than Shwe made the pledge during a visit to China's Yunnan province, which borders Burma. He said he hoped Burma and Yunnan state could further cooperate to replace the cultivation of illegal drugs with that of agricultural crops. General Than Shwe also offered Burmese cooperation in the hydro-power sector and the use of natural resources. Many ethnic minorities in the mountainous border region between Burma and China grow poppies for opium and heroin production. -------------------------------------------------------------------- People's Daily
Online
Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Saturday, January 11, 2003 Myanmar Head of State Visits China's Yunnan Province Than Shwe, Chairman of Myanmar's State Peace and Development Council, arrived in Yunnan Friday, beginning his visit to this southwestern Yunnan Province, which shares a 1,997-kilometer border with Myanmar. Right after his arrival, Than Shwe, who just concluded his visit to neighboring Sichuan Province, met with Bai Enpei, secretary of the Yunnan Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China and Yunnan Governor Xu Rongkai. Bai said during the meeting that the high-level visits between the two sides would help Yunnan and Myanmar to find more cooperation opportunities in the fields of economy, technology, culture and personnel exchanges. Than Shwe said his visit to China was successful and he hoped Myanmar and Yunnan could expand cooperation in replacing illegal drugs plants with agricultural crops, in the hydro-power sector and the use of natural resources. He said Myanmar would improve its roadways to Yunnan Province and he hoped the two sides could accelerate cooperation in that aspect. In his six-day visit which started on January 6, he has held talks and meetings in Beijing with China's top leaders, including President Jiang Zemin, Vice-President Hu Jintao, and chief legislator Li Peng. -------------------------------------------------------------------- |