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Subject: NEWS - Rangoon refuses to discuss sea patrol Claims no mandate to

consider surveillance
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Bangkok Post - March 17, 1999

THAI-BURMESE RELATIONS

Rangoon refuses to discuss sea patrol Claims no mandate to consider
surveillance

Achara Ashayagachat
Phuket

Thailand yesterday failed to secure Burma's support for joint patrols in
the Andaman Sea but was given an assurance armed Burmese fishing boats
would not be used in future conflicts.

The conclusions were reached among military officials as part of the
17th
Thailand-Burma Regional Border Committee, which formally ends its
meeting
today.

Maj-Gen Sit Maung, commander of Burma's Coastal Area Command, and Maj
Tanomsak Rodsawang of Thailand's Joint Co-ordinating Centre under the
Supreme Command Office, led the working group discussion, the minutes of
which are to be approved today by the co-chairmen of the RBC, Maj-Gen
Thein
Sein, chief of Burma's Triangle Region Command and Lt-Gen Taweep
Suwanasingha, commander of the First Army Region.

The Burmese claimed they had no mandate to discuss the joint patrol, the
officials noted. But their reluctance to take up the issue is believed
to
stem from Rangoon's fear of sending a wrong signal to India, its
neighbour
to the west, as Burmese prime minister Gen Than Shwe indicated this
concern
during his visit earlier this month.

The Burmese side also rejected a proposal to draw a "patrol line"
pending
completion of border demarcation, and referred the issue to the
higher-level Joint Boundary Committee that is due to meet next month,
officials said.

But yesterday's discussions did bring some measures to defuse the
tension
that has mounted over the past few months as a result of clashes off
Ranong.

Burma agreed not to use armed fishing boats for suppression operations
at
sea, and to deploy them only for transporting food and oil, officials
said.

Both sides also agreed to use marine band channel 16 for contacts, and
to
have naval and fishing boats fly their respective national flags.

The meeting also emphasised the need for Thai trawlers not to fish in
overlapping waters.

To promote legal fishing, the Thai delegation asked Burma to reduce
concession fees and to provide safety for those fishing legally. The
Burmese delegation took note of the request but said this was a matter
for

the two countries' fisheries departments to decide.

Maj-Gen Thein Sein said the main purpose of the meeting was to
strengthen
bilateral relations between the two armed forces. He played down the
recent
clashes in the Andaman Sea, saying such incidents were normal for
neighbouring countries as long as there were disputed border areas. Thai
sources say the disputed waters cover some 50 nautical miles in the
Andaman.

Lt-Gen Taweep said the two sides also agreed to cooperate in drug
suppression through exchanges of information.