Narinjara news

RESTRUCTURING AND RENAMING THE MILITARY ADMINISTRATION IN RAKHINE STATE

Sittwe,  13^th February 02:  The administration of Rakhine State under the State Peace and Development junta has recently been restructured and renamed, according to our correspondent.

The administration of Rakhine State (capital : Sittwe) has recently been put under the control of a General  General Phon Swe, and the administration of the state was renamed as Dasaka (regional administration) since the Western Command of the Myanmar army (Tatmadaw), was moved to Ann.   The outgoing commander of the previous 'Western Command', general Aung Htwe was promoted to the Department of Defence Services.   Brigadier Maung Oo has been installed in the vacant seat of the commander of the Western Command in December 2001.

The naval base at Kyaukpyu has been put under Vice Admiral Mya Swe of the Myanmar Navy since the shift of the naval headquarters of the state to Kyaukpru (Kyaukpyu) last June.   There a naval base and submarine port has been constructed by the help of Chinese engineers and know-how.  Kyaupyu is situated in a strategically important site on the eastern coast of the Bay of Bengal,  from where it is also possible to keep watch over the great expanse of the bay and far beyond. 

The following list contains the ten administrative bodies of the Myanmar defence services which now control Rakhine State.  The Western Command at Ann, headed by Brigadier Maung Oo;  Dasaka (regional administration) headed by General Phon Swe;  the Dhanyawaddy Naval Headquarters, Kyaukpyu, headed by Vice Admiral Mya Swe;  Sit-sin-ye Thanachouk No. 15 (Operations and planning headquarters) at Buthidaung headed by Colonel Khin Naing Thein;     Operations and planning headquarters No. 9 at Kyauktaw headed by Colonel Myo Win;  Operations and planning headquarters No.5 at Taunggup headed by Brigadier Kyi Thein;  Strategical Unit No. 1 at Buthidaung headed by Colonel Aung Naing Tun;  Military Intelligence No. 18 at Buthidaung headed by Major Thant Jin Moe;  Nasaka border immigration and security forces headquarter at Maungdaw headed by Brigadier Aung Ngwe;  Military Intelligence No. 10 Headquarters at Sittwe.

General Aung Htwe has been placed at the helm as the Defence  Services Commander-in-Chief of Rakhine State.   There are 54 battalions of forces in Rakhine State at present besides the naval and air forces, while there were only five battalions in 1988.  #