A Well-Transited Paradise

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Asiaweek
November 17, 2000

A Well-Transited Paradise

If you're a diver or a tourist seeking a relatively undeveloped tropical 
paradise, the islands around the
southern Philippines and eastern Malaysia are pretty much out of bounds 
these days. The threat of
kidnapping remains just too daunting, no matter how great the effort by 
authorities to provide security
for vacationers. There are plenty of alternatives, but an as-yet 
undeveloped area attracting Singapore
interested is the Mergui Islands, near Myanmar's southernmost tip. 
(Singaporeans are among
Myanmar's heaviest investors.) The islands -- there are more than 800 of 
them in the archipelago that
runs north-south along the Myanmar coast -- are near the Yadana offshore 
natural gas fields that supply
Thailand via a controversial pipeline. Despite the industrial activity, the 
waters are relatively unaffected.
That part of the Andaman Sea has some of the world's best commercial 
fishing grounds. One drawback
-- the convoluted coastline is a thoroughfare for arms being moved by 
secessionist Liberation Tigers of
Tamil Eelam to their home bases in Sri Lanka. In the past, the Tigers have 
used much of the coast from
the mainland port of Mergui in Myanmar for about 500 km down to Phuket in 
Thailand. Still, it's a
beautiful spot to visit, even with all that diverse boat traffic.