Junta's new jets alarm
By Don Pathan
THE NATION :Published on Jan 28, 2002
US Senate panel calls for report on Thailand's security needs
The US Senate appropriations committee has ordered the US Senate panel calls for report on Thailand's security needs .The US Senate appropriations committee has ordered the Department of Defence to report to the Congress on Thailand's security needs in the wake of Burma's recent purchase of 10 MiG-29 fighter aircraft from Russia, according to documents obtained by The Nation.
"The committee is aware of a recent introduction of advanced fighter aircraft in Burma and is concerned with the strategic military balance in the region, particularly regarding Thai-land," one document said.
The idea behind the move is to assess Thailand's defence need and to ensure "military superiority over its airspace and territorial waters in the face of possible threats". The Pentagon is expected to report to Congress by April. The move to include Thailand's security concern in this fiscal year's US Department of Defence Appropriations Bill was pushed through by Senator Mitch McConnell, a member in the committee.
"I did so because of my grave concerns with regional security and stability and with the welfare of the people of Burma who endure hardships and indignities under the oppressive misrule of the State Peace and Development Council [SPDC]," McConnell told his fellow senators. "In terms of oppressive regimes, the SPDC ranks right up there with the Talebans," he added.
McConnell pointed out to his colleague that pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who he referred to as the "legitimately elected leader of Burma", remain under house arrest, with up to 1,800 political prisoners still locked up in prisons in Burma.
"While SPDC thugs and Suu Kyi are engaged in 'talks', the junta is building up its military strength and purchasing billions of dollars of military hardware from Russia and China," McConnell said. "To say that the defence build-up sends conflicting messages to the NLD and the world is a gross understatement," he added.
McConnell also pointed to |the November 28 edition of Jane's Defence Weekly, which said Burma had "significantly expanded the country's military strength while most others in the region are pursuing force reductions . . . Military modernisation since 1988 has been heavily tied to China |as the principal source of equipment, variously valued |at between US$1 billion [Bt44 billion] and $2 billion."
The purchase of MiGs from Moscow, including the acquisition of MiG-17 helicopters in 1996, suggested that "a new dimension could dominate the next phase of development" in Burma's military build-up. SPDC has stated publicly that it plans to expand the armed forces by a further 25 per cent, to 500,000, the report said.
Besides the harsh words for the Burmese government, McConnell criticised Japan for "rewarding" Rangoon by providing a grant aid for the repair of Baluchaung Hydroelectric Power Plant in Karenni State.
"The Japanese government must understand that such assistance is not only premature, it is also misguided. Money is certainly the language of the thugs and thieves in Burma, but it cannot buy peace and stability in that mafia state," the senator said. Rangoon has said the aid was part of World War II compensation and dismissed suggestions that it was a reward for releasing some of the political prisoners.