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Myanmar offered arms for lending a



<center><bold><bigger>THE HINDUSTAN TIMES


</bigger></bold></center>Vol LXXIV No.254  Late City  <bold>New Delhi
Saturday September 12,1998

</bold>

<bold>Myanmar offered arms for lending a helping hand

</bold>

NEW DELHI,Sept.11


India has offered to supply Myanmar state-of-art 5.56 mm assault rifle,
radars ,electronic warfare and naval communication equipment and the HAL
manufactured aircraft following Yangon's concerted efforts to help New
Delhi tackle insurgency in the Nort-East.

Cabinet secretariat sources said this offer was made by Defence secretary
Ajit Kumar to Brigadier Kyaw Win, Deputy director of Myanmar Defence
Services Intelligence ,while on an official visit to India .Mr.Kumar
pointed out during the meeting that Yangon should understand New Delhi's
security concern and not permit any party to indulge in anti-India
activities.The defence secretary was apparently referring to North-East
insurgent and Chinese activity on Myanmar's soil.

The move to export defence equipment comes close on the heels of the
success of Operation Leech(Feb.11),Operation Poorab(May.31) and seizure
of a rebel speed boat in August by the Indian Army,the Navy and the the
Airforce in close coordination with the intelligence agencies.All these
operations were conducted off the coast of Andaman and Nicobar Islands.


Although the exact details of Operation Leech mey never be
known,authentic information indicates that it was a sting operation of
the Indian Army.With clearance from the highest levels,the Indian Army
managed to infiltrate the Arakan and Karen groups after teh nexus between
the Myanmar insurgents with the Indian militants was established .During
the operation ,the Andaman sea passage for transhipment of arms coming
from Loas and Thailand was choked ,a huge cache of arms seized and the
Arakan and Karen National Union insurgents either killed or 
apprehended.


The Nacotics Control Bureau sources say that in operation Poorab , the
Indian armforces intercepted two Thai vessels near Narcondam Island and
seized 50 kilograms of heroin of Myanmarese orgirin along with the large
shipment of arms coming from Thailand. It is understood that last month
the United States Drug Enforcement Agency(DEA)approach the Indian
authorities for more details on the drug trafficking along this route.


Operatiion Poorab was conducted on specific intelligence provided by Gen
Win during his visit to India in March . He had made a visit India
earlier in November last year.During the March visit ,he met foreign
secretary K.Raghunath,Defence secretary Ajit Kumar,Army chief V.P.
Malik,Home secretary B.P.Singh and top officials of the Research and
Analysis Wing (RAW).


According to Gen Win ,arems suppliers would conduct a dry run
fromThailand to Cox Bazar by the end of March. However,intelligence spoke
of the route being altered as a gun-runners intended to move through
Myanmarese water in the vicinity of Coco Island.Yangon informed taht the
run was successful then a sizable arms shipment would be smuggled in
May,1998.


However, in August the forces only managed to capture a speedboat as the
Arakan rebels managed to slip away with the arms.


Although the success of these operations has been a major setback to gun
running on Thailand-Bangladesh-Myanmar-North-East route,anti-India
insurgents are still managed to get supply of sophisticated arms.


Cabinet secretariat sources indicate taht till April,1998 as many as five
shipments of arms had been transported from Ranong in Thailand to Cox
Bazar for the use of Nort-East insurgents.