Indian and Burmese forces bond afresh
BBC(07-12-01)
By the BBC's Larry Jagan in Bangkok
India's top military trainer is completing a week-long visit to Burma on Saturday. The Director General of armed forces training, Major General Ashok Vasudev, has been on a study tour, which Indian government officials have described as routine.
This is the latest in a series of high-level military exchanges between the two countries. Analysts say these visits reflect increasing co-operation between Rangoon and Delhi.All three services in the military, the army, navy and air force, are represented on the visit.
The main purpose of the delegation, an Indian official told the BBC, was to look at the provision of military training in Burma and identify areas in which the Indian armed forces could provide assistance.
Steady collaboration
This visit does not represent a major change in the Indian position, according to government officials, but was only meant to strengthen existing cooperation in the area of military training.
Western military experts believe that Burma's military leaders are looking to diversify their training, especially for air force personnel.
Burma recently acquired MiG fighters from Russia, which are also extensively flown by the Indian air force. But Thai military intelligence sources say they believe the Burmese army is keen to acquire helicopters and may also seek training from India.
Indian officials privately say that military cooperation between India and Burma is steadily increasing and training is an important part of that relationship. Burma is also keen to get more military hardware from Delhi; they already get tanks, guns, ammunition and military uniforms from India.
Military cooperation between the two countries has increased over the past two years, partly in response to common concerns over cross-border insurgency and drug trafficking. This has led to joint military operations against rebel groups along India's north-eastern border with Burma. The Indian and Burmese Army chiefs have made several exchange visits in the past two years.
Regional strategy
India has been keen to improve its relations with the Burmese generals for some time now in the hope of countering what they see as undue Chinese influence.
Economic ties between India and Burma too have been developing strongly in the past few years. India and Burma are building a joint highway which will link Burma's second major city Mandalay with India. This should be completed soon, according to Indian officials.
There are also joint plans, between India, Burma and Thailand, to build a major highway from Mandalay to the Thai border. The foreign ministers of the three countries have agreed to meet early next year in Mandalay to sort out some of the details of the project.