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BP: NEGOTIATING WITH BURMA : Trad



April 7, 1998


                                     



               CURTAIN-RAISER / NEGOTIATING WITH BURMA 

              Trade and borders
              top priorities

              Shifting border lines and changing
              trade currencies will dominate talks in
              Rangoon today when Thai ministers
              call on their opposite numbers.

              Bhanravee Tansubhapol

              The deputy foreign and commerce ministers head for Rangoon
              today with the main tasks of convincing Burma to resume talks
              on a disputed Thai-Burmese border area and to review recent
              regulations for trading in US dollars.

              But the recent attacks by pro-Rangoon forces on Karen refugee
              camps along the border will add another sticky issue for Deputy
              Foreign Minister Sukhumbhand Paribatra to take up with his
              hosts during the two-day visit. Two Thai soldiers were captured
              in incidents at Huay Kalok and Mae Hla that left four Karens
              dead.

              M.R. Sukhumbhand heads the first high-level delegation of the
              Chuan Leekpai government to Burma accompanied by Deputy
              Commerce Minister Pothipong Lamsam and several Thai
              businessmen.

              They are due to have talks with Deputy Foreign Minister Nyunt
              Shwe and Deputy Commerce Minister Kyaw Than, and meet
              with Than Shwe, chairman of the ruling State Peace and
              Development Council, First Secretary-General Khin Nyunt, and
              Foreign Minister U Ong Kyaw.

              M.R. Sukhumbhand has stressed the need for the two countries
              to cooperate bilaterally and as partners in the Association of
              Southeast Asian Nations on matters ranging from refugees to
              economic development.

              The approach of the rains has brought fears of new friction
              stemming from the seasonal shift of borderlines in the Moei River
              that has brought seasonal stand-offs along the disputed border
              area.

              M.R. Sukhumbhand will urge Burmese authorities to use
              diplomatic rather than military means to solve any problems that
              might arise in connection with the unclear border line at Wat
              Prathat Khok Chang Phuak and Ban Mae Konekane in Tak
              province, according to a foreign ministry official. 

              Thailand claims it lost 340 rai of land in 1993 when Ban Mae
              Konekane, in Tambon Tha Sai Luad, was cut off from the
              mainland. Burma says it lost up to 150 rai as a result of severe
              flooding in 1994 and 1995 which changed the course of the
              Moei River. The 1868 Siam-British treaty sets the borderline as
              the middle of the river. 

              "We don't want soldiers of either side to take it upon themselves
              to stage incursions to take back what they think is their territory,
              " said the official.

              But the threat of use of force will persist, he said, as long as the
              two countries do not settle disputes and demarcate their
              2,401-kilometre-long border.

              The two countries made some progress last year by agreeing to
              divide the land and river border into 10 sectors, and to use aerial
              photos shot in 1994 to demarcate the disputed area at Ban Mae
              Konekane and Wat Pathat khok Chang Puek.

              The sectors have been marked out by technical teams since the
              agreement was reached in August, according to sources.

              On trade matters, Mr Pothipong will try to persuade Burma to
              return to the use of local currency in bilateral trade in line with the
              agreement in February among Asean finance ministers.

              Brunei, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore
              and Vietnam are other Asean member states. 

              According to a commerce ministry official, Thai exports have
              dropped by more than 80 percent since Burma issued the
              regulation in November for exporters dealing in more than
              $20,000 worth of goods to open letters of credit in US dollars at
              Thai or Burmese banks.

              The official said Burma could block trade for another 10 years
              even though it joined Asean last July and is committed to joining
              the Asean Free Trade Area.

              Burma and Laos, which was admitted at the same time, have
              until 2010 to liberalise trade, while older Asean member states
              have to minimise tariffs by 2003.

              As part of preparations for his upcoming trip, M.R.
              Sukhumbhand, who was a staunch critic of the military regime in
              Rangoon before he joined the Chuan government, has sought
              "special advice" from top brass reputed to be close to Burma's
              generals, including Supreme Commander Mongkol Ampornpisit
              and Army Commander-in-Chief Chetta Thanajaro, a source
              said.

              With Gen Chetta due to reach retirement in October, the Foreign
              Ministry is "trying to convince the Burmese leaders to deal with
              us on a government-to-government, rather than on a personal
              basis", a source said.




                                     




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Last Modified: Tue, Apr 7, 1998