NEW DELHI: The Setting up of a Chinese naval base for refueling and maintaining vessels at Hainggyi Island and a radar station at Coco Islands south west of the Burmese coast at Basses in opposite the Andaman Islands has sent alarm signals to India and neighboring countries.

This unusual development is considered a part of the growing Sino-Myanmar (Burma) strategic cooperation that started in 1989, In fact, according to observers, Myanmar’s decision to open up to China started with the visit of a24 member high-power delegation led by the Commander-in-Chief of the Myanmar army to China. The delegates included the heads of the navy and air force production units. The team had visited the F-6 and F-7 fighter aircraft factory in Shijanzherang and the Shanghai naval dock yard.

This was followed by several visits of military delegations from Myanmar throughout 1990 and 1991. According to a source, in 1991 alone three Myanmar military delegations visited China. China reciprocated by sending an equal number of delegations to Myanmar, which included the visit of Lt. Gen, HeQzong, deputy chief of General staff of People’s Liberation Army (PLA).

According to sources, China has extended liberal assistance to the tune of two billion dollars during the past three years with nearly half as military aid.

Under the military assistance, China has provided Myanmar with 12 F-7 and 12 F-6 fighter aircraft, four patrol boats, ground radars, anti-aircraft guns, missiles, small arms and ammunition at concessional rates. Myanmar was also reported to have procured 50 tanks, 30,000 AK-47 rifles and one thousand missiles. Most of this equipment is reported to have already arrived in Myanmar’’s Yangon (Rangoon) port. Sources also indicate that

Myanmar has received a Chinese frigate and is providing training to its naval personnel on it. Earlier this year, the Chinese have also made inroads into Myanmar’s communication network by agreeing to set up a TV station.

The Chinese have also agreed to build a 50-ton bridge on the main Myanmar road construct a railway line connecting Yunan province in China and North Myanmar, and an all-weather road linking Hoimato pass on the Sino-Indian border.

This extraordinary and sudden development in Sino-Myanmar relations has four dimensions. For the first time the Chinese are gaining a permanent foothold in the Indian Ocean and giving a clear signal to the South Asia that their strategic interest is are beyond Malacca Swaits.

This follows the earlier Chinese naval cooperation with other counties in the Indian subcontinent Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The Indian strategic community feels that we may be seeing more Chinese activity in the Indian Ocean region in the coming years,

The second dimension is that the additional buffer state between India and China on India’s eastern border has suddenly disappeared. Like India, Chinese policy makers supported the Democracy movement in Myanmar in 1988. But the Chinese say in these developments an opportunity to wean the military Junta to their side, While the rest of the world condemned the suppression of the democracy movement in Myarmar, China decided to extend did, this came as a big relief to Rangoon and the subsequent developments made India a major security concern in Burmese threat perception.

The third dimension is that Indo Myanmar cooperation in fighting insurgency in both India and Myanmar suddenly came to a halt from 1990 onwards. The local commanders meetings on the Indo-Myanmar border have become less frequent.

Last, China is slowly and systematically emerging as a major trading partner of Myanmar.

Article extracted from this publication >> July 17, 1992