New worry: Chinese arms with Myanmar insurgents

By Abhijit ChakraverttyThe recent Chinese belligerence on the Line of Actual Control has added another dimension to the security environment in the northeast. Close monitoring of developments in the region and coordination with the security establishments of both Bangladesh and Myanmar is therefore axiomatic.Recently, Maj Gen Tun Tun Nyi of the Mynamar Army told the media in Nay Pyi Taw that the Arakan Army(AA) and its associate group Taáng National Liberation Army (TNLA) had acquired Chinese weapons. This has lent credence to reports that a large consignment of Chinese-made weapons has reached Myanmar insurgent groups. The concern was also reflected by Myanmar Army Chief Senior General Aung Hlang during his visit to Moscow for the Victory Day parade where he alluded to “strong forces” supporting terrorism and insurgency in his country.The provocation was an incident on March 10-11, where the AA attacked a Myanmar Army post on the banks of River Kaladan, killing 20 soldiers including the commanding officer of the battalion. Following this attack, the Myanmar government on 23rd March proscribed the AA and its political wing the United League of Arakan (ULA). Eastablished in 2009, the AA seeks the secession of the Rakhine State from Myanmar. The AA is not a signatory to the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) and significantly all non-signatories to the ceasefire are well armed groups such as KIA and the United Wa State Army (USWA) that operate from the China-Myanmar border and draw sustenance from across that border. This has significant security implications for India’s northeast. More specifically, it jeopardises the recent progress in the decade-old Kaladan Multi Modal Project, which provides an outlet to the sea for the landlocked northeast by linking Mizoram with the Myanmar port of Sittwe. While a deep-sea port at Sittwe has been commissioned, the road construction activity has been stalled due to attacks by the AA.In past too, the AA has disrupted the Kaladan Project by attacking Indian workers. It has, however, refrained from any action against the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC), thereby making its predilections quite clear.The successful induction of a large cache of weapons by the AA has adverse consequences for India. Also, the reported source and route of the consignment almost replicates the earlier arms cargo that were procured by ULFA and NSCN(I/M).The weapons apparently originated from Norinco, a Chinese state-owned ordnance company, and despatched by its affiliate TCL. The shipment is said to have landed near Cox’s Bazar at the Bangladesh-Myanmar coastal junction and transported through the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) before entering Myanmar near Parva at the India -Bangladesh-Myanmar trijunction.That the group went undetected by the Bangladesh army, coastal patrols and border guards, managed to negotiate the thick jungles and cross over through Parva points to a well-planned operation. The confirmation by the Myanmar military that weapons used by the AA were of Chinese origin adds yet another layer of anxiety.The Kachin Independence Army, AA’s mentor outfit, operates in an area of Myanmar that has borders with both China and India; significantly, on the Indian side with Arunachal Pradesh, a territory claimed by China.Though in recent years, major groups which had such collaboration have been subdued, their factions such as the NSCN(K) and ULFA (Paresh Baruah) still have significant connect with Chinese intelligence. The NSCN(K) after Khaplang’s death in 2017 is now headed by his nephew Yung Aung who has deep ties with China. Paresh Baruah has taken refuge on the Myanmar-China border and is reportedly under the protection of the Chinese. Tensions between India and China may encourage some of these groups to seek Chinese assistance in order to destabilise the region, and in the current scenario such help may be forthcoming.(Former Special Secretary, Cabinet Secretariat, Govt. of India)

from Economic Times https://ift.tt/2DPaDmN