Possible Myanmar/Burma Nuclear Weapons program ?

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Burmese, Thai envoys to visit northeast India

Thursday, 03 June 2010 15:47 Kyaw Mya

New Delhi (Mizzima) – The Burmese and Thai ambassadors to India met the minister of northeastern regional development in New Delhi recently to discuss trade, tourism and connectivity along the road under the huge Kaladan River transport project, but rights groups say such links are doing very little to help ordinary Burmese.

The envoys decided further talks would be held soon during the envoys' visits to Northeastern states along Indo-Burmese border, a ministry official said on Monday.

The ambassadors from the Asean countries, Krit Kraichitti of Thailand and Kyi Thein of Burma, met Bijoy Krishna Handique, the minister of mines and development of the northeastern region (Doner) on May 26, an Indian government statement said.

"It's a courtesy visit," an official from the Ministry of Development of the Northeastern Region told Mizzima. "The Thailand and Burma ambassadors called up Shri Bijoy Krishna Handique for a meeting, and "¦ came to the conclusion they would visit the Northeastern Region to explore the possibility of promoting tourism and trade in a two-phase visit."

"The minister of mines and Doner would be co-ordinating the two-phased visit, which includes Mizoram, Manipur and Tripura in the first phase and Sikkim, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh on the second," the ministry official said, referring to six of the country's northeastern states.

The tour date was yet to be set and "will be finalised after consulting the respective ministers. We are hoping it will be in "¦ August and September", he said.

The Burmese ambassador gave Handique a report on the road linking Zokhta in Mizoram State with Setpytpin in Burma. He said Burma was acting on India's request that development of the road be expedited, the statement said.

The road is part of the "Kaladan multi-modal transit transport project" financed by India, which aims to boost links between ports on India's eastern seaboard and Sittwe in Arakan (Rakhine) State, Burma. From there goods will be shipped along the Kaladan River from its confluence near Sittwe to Paletwa in Chin State and by road to India's Mizoram State, which will provide an alternate route for transport of goods to India's landlocked northeast, according to the ministry's website.

It will comprise 333 miles (539 kilometres) of waterways and 140 miles of roads. India and Burma signed the overall deal in April last year.

According to the official, measures to promote border trade were also discussed and a recent notice from India's export-import watchdog, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade, expanding permitted commodities for trade along the Indo-Burmese border, was also presented.

A list of 21 commodities had been allowed for trade with Burma but on May 12, the watchdog added 18 categories to the permitted items that included bicycle parts, life-saving drugs, fertilisers, spices, incense sticks, sugar, salt and stainless-steel utensils.

The meeting also aimed to build cultural ties. Last year Handique launched a cultural exchange programme that started with youth sport and music activities in the Northeastern Region and in December, a cultural troupe from Burma visited Kohima, Imphal and Guwahati, the capitals of Nagaland, Manipur and, home of the Assamese capital, Dispur, respectively. Abiogenesis, a band that fuses the traditional music of Nagaland with modern rock, performed at the National Theatre in Rangoon on May 28, and in Mandalay on May 30.

However India's soft diplomacy with Burma keeps one eye firmly fixed on the latter's natural energy resources. Indian government corporations such as ONGC and gas transporter GAIL (India) have secured stakes in gas-field development and onshore pipeline projects in Burma.

In recent years, Indo-Burmese relations have improved significantly as trade has increased. Indian companies such as Essar Group and the former National Hydroelectric Power Corporation known now as NHPC are among the top investors that have begun to capitalise on Burma's abundance of natural resources.

Essar's engineering subsidiary signed a contract with the Indian foreign ministry recently for dredging and construction of cargo barges to aid shipping along the Kaladan River, a section of the Kaladan transport project. The construction of the port at Sittwe was a major component of the deal. Essar said in a statement.

But certainly not all Burmese will benefit. Aung Marm Oo, director of the Arakan Rivers Network said in Chiang Mai, Thailand last November said that the proposed project, especially the dredging, would devastate livelihoods in Sittwe, Pongnakyun and Kyaukthaw townships in Arakan, while in Chin State, the people of Paletwa Township would also pay a heavy price.

"The first group to be affected is people who earn a living from fishing in the Kaladan River," Aung Marm Oo said.

Essar said its responsibilities also included 120 kilometres of road to be built in Burma from the river terminal in Paletwa to the India-Burma border in the northeast, but that road construction would be under a separate contract.

NHPC projects have involved a number of hydropower schemes, such as the Tamanthi Dam in Sagaing Division, which rights groups have condemned on grounds of human rights abuses and environmental devastation.

Rights group Burma Rivers Network said an estimated 80 per cent of the electricity produced will not serve ordinary Burmese, who suffer extensive power outages and rationing, even in the old capital, Rangoon – but will go to India. Electricity in Burma is reportedly slated to power the Monywa mining operation.

The group said the dam "is expected to displace 30,000 people in Sagaing Division, including more than 35 Kuki villages, and flood approximately 17,000 acres [6,900 hectares] of fertile farmland".

"In late 2007, approximately 380 households were forcibly relocated from Leivomjang and Tazong villages, which are located between Tamanthi and Homalin in Sagaing Division," the group said on its website. "The villagers were instructed to move to a relocation site named 'ShwePyiAye Village' [after junta Senior General Than Shwe and Vice-Senior General Maung Aye]. The site has no fertile farmland and many villagers are trying to flee. Since construction activities began, increased Burma Army abuses have been reported near the Tamanthi site."

"More than six per cent of the Tamanthi Wildlife Sanctuary will be inundated by the dam, including the vital habitats of globally endangered large mammals such as tiger "¦ elephant "¦ and the endemic Burmese roofed turtle will be lost forever as no other site for this species is currently known," the group said.
 

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Strategic Dimensions of Indo-Myanmar Relations

Rajesh Kapoor
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Myanmar's geo-strategic location, as situated at the tri-junction of South Asia, South-east Asia and East Asia, enhances its strategic relevance to India. Myanmar also occupies a pivotal position in the strategies of China, Bangladesh and ASEAN countries. As Myanmar provides an alternative route through the sea to landlocked and under-developed North-eastern states, India is keen on furthering its bilateral relations with its neighbour. China's increasing influence in Myanmar pose a potential security challenge to India which cannot be taken lightly. Myanmar's hydropower and hydro-carbon potential have invited the attention and investment of various countries which enhances Indian prospects of entering into joint venture with foreign companies. Moreover investment in both the sectors is crucial for India's increasing demand for energy security. India's desire and efforts to expand its outreach to South-east Asian nations embedded in the construction of Trans-Asian Highway and Trans-Asian Rail Network will remain unfulfilled without taking Myanmar into the loop. Myanmar also holds the key to the ongoing insurgency in the North-east particularly Manipur and Nagaland. Several insurgents are believed to be operating from safe havens in the western provinces of Myanmar.

China already has a compliant Pakistan in India's west and a China compliant Myanmar acting such as Pakistan will add to more problems on India's Eastern front. Chinese plans to construct roads through Yunan and Myanmar will give China easy access to the Bay of Bengal and Indian Ocean which is considered by India as mare nostrum (our sea). These plans are being seen with suspicion in the Indian strategic circle. A road network will provide China an alternative route to the Strait of Malacca, where Indian Navy has a strong foothold. Eighty per cent of Chinese energy supply depends on the Strait of Malacca. If China's rising economic and strategic stakes are not balanced in Myanmar, New Delhi will be left with little or no choice. Taking a cue from Chinese aggressiveness in seizing available opportunities, India has adopted a pragmatic and realist approach towards Myanmar. India is not only eyeing the huge offshore gas fields but also investing in infrastructure development including the Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project Myanmar. There exists great potential and the sky is the limit when it comes to promoting bilateral trade. However compared to China, Indian share is negligible. Even in the bilateral trade between India and Myanmar trade balance has always remained in Myanmar's favour.

Even though Myanmar is a signatory to Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and also to the Nuclear Weapons Free Southeast Asia, it is allegedly developing its own nuclear weapons. As of now, nothing concrete can be said about its nuclear designs. However, there is no second opinion about Chinese assistance behind Pakistani and North Korean nuclear weapons. India cannot afford to have one more nuclear power in its vicinity, even if its possibility is slim. Therefore, India needs greater involvement in Myanmar through bilateral and multi-lateral frameworks including ASEAN, Mekong-Ganga Cooperation and BIMSTEC. Indo-Myanmar relations have witnessed ups and downs passing through various phases from "close cooperation" through "idealism" and "realism." However the current situation appears promising for both the countries. Bilateral trade is improving with the current figures crossing one billion dollar mark. Despite the fact that trade balance remains in Myanmar's favour, India has enough sectors to invest including infrastructure, hydropower, hydrocarbons, ICT, BT, jewellery, pharmaceuticals and cooperation in the field of HRD.

Counter-insurgency cooperation and border management are two important areas where India needs Myanmar on its side. It the case of Myanmar, it is always the military junta which choses to engage with a foreign country and not the other way round. Fortunately this time Myanmar has extended its hand towards India to enhance security cooperation. The high level interactions from both sides have significantly increased. There are several problems that India has been witnessing from across the border. Steps are being taken to address the common problems faced by both the countries including demarcating the 1643 km shared border. The cross-border smuggling of narcotics, small arms and ammunitions are also high on the agenda of both the countries. The scope for enhancing military cooperation is tremendous. India has not only given military aid to Myanmar in the past but also training to its security personnel. Both countries have conducted joint counter-insurgency operations to nail down insurgents.

India's North-eastern states share 98 per-cent of their border with the neighbouring countries i.e. international borders and have only a two per-cent linkage with mainland India. This unique feature makes the region more vulnerable not only in terms of security, but also access to basic amenities. The rate of growth in the North-eastern states is far slower than the national average. India through its Look East Policy has attempted to target these problems including; insurgency and under-development in the North-east and greater connectivity with South-east Asian nations, obviously through Myanmar.

Myanmar is also aware of the increasing Chinese influence and wants to avoid over-reliance on China by diversifying its defence procurements and other investments in infrastructure of high relevance. The military junta has cautiously adopted a policy which is rooted in the feeling of nationalism and identity which India needs to understand, especially the domestic determinants of Myanmar's policy towards rest of the world in general and its neighbours in particular. India should also focus on the geo-political and politico-military realities and how they influence policies in Myanmar. For instance, the generals in Myanmar have resorted to periodic actions against insurgent groups on its western peripheries because Myanmar pays more attention to its border with China. Needless to mention that utmost attention is paid to the areas inhabiting people of Burman/Bamah race who constitute 69 per cent of the population. According to the UN Myanmar is the third biggest contributor of refugees after Afghanistan and Iraq. The refugee problem has affected Myanmar-Thailand relations and may affect relations with other Southeast Asian nations.

India also needs to be prompt in its approach while seizing the investment opportunities in Myanmar. There exist enormous opportunities but the first comers will get the better deal. Strategically Myanmar has been and will remain important for India as it holds key to stability in the North-east, economic and trade linkages with the South-east Asian markets and stemming China's increasing influence in the region.
 
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Burma's Nuclear Program: Dream or Nightmare?

http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=968

Burma's Nuclear Program: Dream or Nightmare?


Over the past 15 years, Burma's armed forces have demonstrated a remarkable ability to justify arms acquisitions that, to most observers, seem to be without any credible strategic or economic rationale. The ruling State Peace and Development Council, or SPDC, appears determined to persist with its military modernization and expansion program in the face of such stark realities as Burma's struggling economy, the collapse of its social infrastructure, the poverty of its people and the concerns of its neighbors. Perhaps the best example of the military junta's questionable priorities is its determination to build a nuclear reactor. This project has caused considerable unease in the region, and in centers like Vienna and Washington. Over the past few months, this concern has begun to turn to alarm, as reports have emerged suggesting that the reactor may be built with the assistance of North Korea. This has raised the specter of a future nuclear weapons program that could intimidate Burma's neighbors and be used as a bargaining chip against the US and its allies. Burma's nuclear ambitions date back at least to December 2000, when the SPDC's Minister for Science and Technology, U Thaung, visited Moscow and met with the Russian Minister of Atomic Energy. There were reports at the time that Burma had also approached China, and made its interest in a nuclear reactor known to potential vendors there. Pakistan too may have been contacted for assistance. The Department of Atomic Energy was created in U Thaung's ministry, which was made responsible for pursuing this project, including contacts with the International Atomic Energy Agency, or IAEA. In September 2001 Rangoon formally approached the IAEA for assistance in obtaining a nuclear research reactor. The agency initially decided to ignore the request, on the grounds that Burma neither needed a reactor nor had the infrastructure and funding to support such a project. It was also concerned about the collapse of Burma's education system since 1988 and its low technical skills base. Despite these reservations, an IAEA inspection team was sent to Burma that November. The team's assessment, however, simply confirmed the agency's original views. There were rumors in early 2002 that, without the IAEA's help, the junta could not meet the cost of the nuclear project. But in May it was announced that Russia's Atomic Energy Ministry, known as Minatom, had agreed to "cooperate in designing and building a nuclear studies center that will include a research nuclear reactor with a thermal capacity of 10 megawatts and two laboratories." Minatom undertook to design the center, help choose the site, deliver the nuclear fuel, and supply all essential equipment and materials. Russian experts would assemble, install and help operate the center's "main technical equipment." The agreement included structures for the disposal of nuclear waste and a waste burial site. Russia would also train Burmese technicians to help build and operate the reactor. The deal was signed in Moscow in July 2002. There was initial speculation that the nuclear facility would be built in Rangoon, followed by some unlikely reports that it was going to be built on an offshore island near Ye. However, it was later revealed that a groundbreaking ceremony for the facility was scheduled to take place at a secret location near Magwe, in central Burma, in January 2003. The reactor and associated equipment were to be delivered later that year. The Rangoon regime said that it expected the reactor to be built "within a few years." In anticipation of these events, hundreds of Burmese officials were sent to Russia for training. The reasons behind the junta's interest in a nuclear reactor have never been clear. There were several statements during 2002 that the reactor was to be used for peaceful medical purposes. The Foreign Minister was reported as saying too that the reactor could be used "possibly to generate nuclear power." Yet the construction of such an expensive and highly specialized facility for electricity generation is irrational. Burma could barely maintain its basic civil infrastructure, and its level of technological development was very low. The production of medical isotopes could be achieved more economically elsewhere. While it suffers from electricity shortages, Burma has ample natural gas and is constructing several new hydroelectric power stations. The main impetus behind the nuclear reactor project appears to be status and prestige. The international reaction to the announcement of the nuclear project was predictable. A number of serious concerns were expressed, relating largely to the safety and security of any reactor built in Burma. With the example of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster clearly in mind, the Thais in particular were worried about Russia's involvement in the construction project, and the nature of the facility that was to be built.

Also, Thailand and other neighboring countries feared that Burma would be unable to operate and maintain the reactor. The IAEA team that visited in 2001, to assess the country's preparedness to use and maintain a nuclear reactor safely, was highly critical of Rangoon's standards, which were well below the accepted minimum, even for conventional power plants. Burma's record of earthquakes was also raised. There were security concerns too. Despite ceasefire agreements with most of Burma's armed insurgent groups, some were still fighting the junta, and posed a potential risk to any nuclear reactor. While doubtless heavily guarded, the facility would still be an attractive insurgent target. Despite the imposition of tight controls over popular protest since the 1988 democratic uprising, there was also a danger of civil unrest, arising from decades of repression by the military government and its inept handling of the economy. A nuclear reactor would represent a potent symbol of the regime's penchant for costly high-status projects, pursued at the expense of basic services like health and education. With the international terrorist threat in mind, the US State Department has already demanded assurances from the junta that it could safely secure such sensitive facilities and materials. After the initial announcement of the nuclear project, little additional information has been made available about the reactor, its location, or the safeguards being put in place to ensure that it is built and operated according to international standards. This has led to considerable speculation and a number of additional concerns. In particular, fears have been expressed that Burma might become a rogue state, and try to develop a nuclear weapon. Even if a nuclear weapons option was not available, it was argued, the presence of a nuclear reactor would at least give the Rangoon regime the capability to develop a "dirty bomb," which could spread radioactive material through a conventional explosion. Few objective observers question the ruthlessness of the military junta in Rangoon or its determination to cling to power. But an attempt to acquire a nuclear weapon would be completely out of character for a government that, ever since its independence in 1948, has had a history of active participation in global disarmament initiatives. There was no sign before 2000 that Burma had ever considered the acquisition of a nuclear reactor, let alone nuclear weapons. Indeed, successive governments in Rangoon have consistently sought to counter nuclear threats and enhance the country's security by opposing the manufacture, deployment and use of nuclear weapons. Burma has an impressive record of supporting international legal instruments designed to limit nuclear weapons proliferation and use. Since 1988, this policy has been confirmed by the junta. For example, in December 1995 it signed the Bangkok Treaty, which included a reaffirmation by the ten signatory states of the obligations assumed under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and contained a ban on the development, manufacture, possession, control, stationing or transport, testing or use of nuclear weapons. Notwithstanding this record, the possibility of Burma acquiring a nuclear weapons capability is now being accorded greater attention. In late 2003, it was revealed that the nuclear reactor deal with Russia had been shelved, apparently because the junta had been unable to reach final agreement with Moscow regarding payment. While no firm evidence is yet available, there have been suggestions in the international news media that Rangoon may have turned instead to North Korea to help build its nuclear facilities. This, in turn, has raised the specter of a Burmese nuclear weapons program. In November 2003 the Far Eastern Economic Review reported that North Korean technicians had been seen unloading large crates and heavy construction equipment from trains in central Burma, near the reported site of the future nuclear research reactor. In addition, aircraft from North Korea's national airline have reportedly been seen landing at military airfields nearby. These developments apparently coincided with the arrival in Rangoon of representatives of the Daesong Economic Group, which has a record of secretly proliferating nuclear technologies to Pakistan. The clear implication of the article was that Pyongyang was providing equipment and materials to help build a nuclear reactor. The small research reactor Burma was getting from Russia was said to be unsuited for the manufacture of fissile material, but Pyongyang has the expertise to provide Rangoon with other options. These fears were encouraged by an unconfirmed news report in November 2003 that 80 members of the Burmese armed forces had recently departed for North Korea to study nuclear technology. The junta has denied that it has any plans to acquire weapons of mass destruction.

SPDC spokesmen have stated that Burma was putting its energy and resources into the pursuit of a peaceful, stable and smooth transition to a multi-party democracy and an open market economy. The nuclear reactor, which was apparently still on the junta's list of priority development projects, was said to be for peaceful research purposes only. The junta has further claimed that Burma was "everyone's friend and nobody's ally or enemy." It said that it had no ambition to arm itself with nuclear weapons and firmly rejected the idea that Burma would ever threaten any of its neighbors. There is still considerable confusion about Burma's plans for a nuclear reactor. A number of key questions remain unanswered. It is likely to be several years before the facility is built and comes on line. A number of major obstacles will need to be overcome. But even if a Burmese nuclear weapon is simply a bad dream, the construction of a nuclear reactor will severely stretch Rangoon's budget and technical capabilities. It may test Burma's relations with its neighbors and the wider international community even more. The full version of this article appeared in the February issue of the Asia Pacific Defence Reporter. William Ashton writes regularly about security issues in Asia.
 
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http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Evidence_points_to_Myanmar_nuclear_program_999.html

Evidence points to Myanmar nuclear program


Myanmar's military dictatorship is working on nuclear weapons, a report by a Norway human rights and democracy group claims.

The evidence from Myanmar, formerly called Burma, is analyzed in a 30-page report by a former director of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Robert Kelley, and published on the Web site of the non-profit Democratic Voice of Burma.

Myanmar is likely mining uranium and exploring nuclear technology that is "useful only for weapons," Kelley said in his report that focuses largely on evidence from one man, former Myanmar Maj. Sai Thein Win.

Kelley, an American nuclear scientist, has worked for five years with DVB putting together the report based on documents and hundreds of photographs from Win, a defense engineer who studied nuclear and chemical technology at the Moscow Institute of Engineering Physics and the Mendeleev Institute of Chemical Technology.

Win later worked in Myanmar factories where he was part of a team making prototype components for missiles, DVB said on its Web site.

"Sai contacted DVB after learning of its investigation into Burma's military programs and supplied various documents and color photographs of the equipment built inside the factories," DVB said.

"The investigation has also uncovered evidence of North Korean involvement in the development of Burmese missiles, as well as Russia's training of Burmese nuclear technicians."

The report said that Win is a "remarkable individual" who "came out to Thailand to tell the world what he has seen and what he was asked to do." Win "can describe the special demonstrations he attended and can name the people and places associated with the Burmese nuclear program."

DVB said that Win is supplying nuclear information in the same fashion as did Mordechai Vanunu, an Israeli technician at the Dimona nuclear site in the Negev desert. Vanunu took photographs of activities in Israel that allegedly related to nuclear fuel and weapons development. The photos were published in the Sunday Times newspaper in London in 1986.

Vanunu was abducted, tried in an Israeli court and sentenced to 18 years in prison for divulging state secrets.

Two companies in Singapore with German connections sold machine tools to the Myanmar government's Department of Technical and Vocational Education.

"DTVE is probably a front for military purchasing for weapons of mass destruction; that is to say nuclear, chemical and biological weapons and the means to deliver them, largely missiles," the report said.

Win provided high-quality photos of German technicians installing the equipment and the Germans were suspicious that the machinery was for educational use because there were no schools or colleges in the area.

Kelley said the quality of the machine parts and the mechanical drawings were "poor" and "nothing we have seen suggests Burma will be successful with materials and components."

Kelley also said that if Myanmar was discovered to have a nuclear development program it should face international sanctions.

Myanmar having nuclear weapons would pose a proliferation risk in the region that lies between the nuclear powers of India and China. Many of their Southeast Asia neighbors have proclaimed the region a nuclear weapons-free zone.

Last summer an article in the Australian newspaper The Sydney Morning Herald reported that North Korea was helping Myanmar build a nuclear reactor and plutonium extraction plant as part of a program to build an atomic bomb by 2014.

Evidence from Myanmar defectors said the plant was inside a mountain at Naung Laing in northern Myanmar and close to a research reactor Russia agreed to help build at another site, the Herald said.

Last August U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton voiced concern over Myanmar's suspected nuclear ambitions at a regional security meeting in Thailand.

Indian authorities had recently detained a North Korean ship and searched it for radioactive material. The MV Mu San dropped anchor off the Andaman Islands without permission and was believed destined for Myanmar.

Most of the Andaman islands, between India and Myanmar, are part of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands Union Territory of India while a small number of the archipelago islands belong to Myanmar.

The search of the ship was done under U.N. sanctions adopted in June 2009 after North Korea's atomic test the month before.
 

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India must stop rogue countries like Burma from acquiring Nuclear Bombs. It has enough headaches around its neighborhood and does not need a new one.
 
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India must stop rogue countries like Burma from acquiring Nuclear Bombs. It has enough headaches around its neighborhood and does not need a new one.
How will this be done?? when countries like China and pakistan can proliferate freely?? Two new headaches are coming once Burma goes nuclear Bangladesh will follow.
 

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http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/IE24Ae02.html
Myanmar's close contacts with Pakistan have also recently come under diplomatic scrutiny. Western diplomats based in Islamabad say they are convinced that the junta's desire to acquire nuclear know-how has been a central focus of the budding bilateral relationship. Pakistani officials have fervently denied that they are in any way abetting Myanmar's nuclear ambitions. But widespread rumors that two Pakistani nuclear scientists accused of nuclear proliferation were given sanctuary in Myanmar in 2003 still linger.
Burma's Nuclear Ambitions - 43min Documentary
 
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http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Myanmar_nukes_would_destabilize_region_US_999.html

Myanmar nukes would destabilize region: US


Myanmar risks destabilizing Southeast Asia through its pursuit of weapons, although it is not yet clear whether the military regime is developing a nuclear program, a US official said Thursday.

A senior army defector, in a recent documentary broadcast on Al Jazeera television, said the junta has been seeking nuclear weapons and developing a secret network of underground tunnels with help from North Korea.

Scot Marciel, the State Department official in charge of Southeast Asia, said that the United States was still assessing the allegations about Myanmar -- also known as Burma.

"I think there's two issues. One is whether there is some kind of serious nuclear program in Burma, which certainly would be tremendously destabilizing to the entire region," Marciel testified at a congressional hearing.

"There's also the Burmese acquisition of other military equipment -- conventional -- which also can affect regional stability," he said.

"We're looking at both of those questions very closely," said Marciel, the deputy assistant secretary of state for East Asian affairs.

A senior Myanmar official last week told AFP that the accusations of a nuclear program were "groundless," without elaborating.

On a visit to Myanmar in May, Marciel's superior, Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell, expressed concern about a suspected arms shipment from North Korea and sought assurances from the regime.

Senator Jim Webb, one of the most vocal US advocates of engagement with Myanmar, abruptly canceled a visit to the country earlier this month due to the allegations of cooperation with North Korea.

Addressing the Asia Society on Wednesday, Webb said he was still waiting to learn more about the allegations but decided it would be counterproductive to visit Myanmar at the time the documentary was broadcast.

President Barack Obama's administration last year opened dialogue with Myanmar, concluding that the previous approach of isolating the regime had not borne fruit.

But the administration has voiced deep concern about elections later this year, which the opposition considers a sham to legitimize military rule.
 

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Burma denies nuclear weapons programme

The Burmese government has denied recent reports that it is developing a nuclear weapons programme.

A statement from the foreign ministry said foreign media reports alleging such a programme were "politically motivated".

The Norway-based Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) broadcaster had run a documentary based on a defector's information about a nuclear plan.

US Senator Jim Webb cancelled a planned trip to Burma due to the reports.

'Peaceful'
The Burmese government labelled the allegations "baseless accusations" based on the information from army deserters, fugitives and dissidents.

It said Burma was a peace loving country with "no intention to possess nuclear weapons as military power."

Analysts have raised concerns in recent months that Burma was cooperating with North Korea in developing nuclear technology.

The Burmese government statement denied this also, saying the docking of a North Korean ship in April had been routine and involved trade in rice and cement, not nuclear parts.

It said an earlier agreement with Russia to develop a 10-megawatt reactor for peaceful purposes had been put on hold for lack of resources.

The DVB documentary featured Major Sai Thein Win, who said he had been part of engineering unit developing a nuclear reactor and rocket engine parts in a military facility.

The Burmese government said Mr Sai was Russia-trained but not a major and had deserted from the army in February.

If Burma was proved to be conducting nuclear weapons research it would be subject to United Nations sanctions.

Burma has signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and is a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10299982
 

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Russia and Burma in nuclear deal

Russia has agreed to build a nuclear research centre in Burma, state atomic energy agency Rosatom has said.

n a potentially controversial deal, the centre will include a 10MW light-water reactor and facilities for processing and storing nuclear waste.

It will be monitored by the UN nuclear agency, the IAEA, Rosatom said.

The United States and European Union have imposed sanctions on Burma's military rulers, whom they accuse of widespread human rights abuses.

Nuclear know-how
Rosatom head Sergey Kiriyenko and Burma's Science and Technology Minister U Thaung signed the nuclear deal in Moscow, Rosatom said in a statement.

"The centre will comprise a 10MW light-water reactor working on 20%-enriched uranium-235, an activation analysis laboratory, a medical isotope production laboratory, silicon doping system, nuclear waste treatment and burial facilities," it said.

Russia will train 300-350 specialists for the centre, the statement said. It did not give a timescale for construction.

With 10MW, running on low enriched uranium, the proposed reactor could not be used for a nuclear weapons programme, says the BBC's Steven Eke.

But the deal will again raise questions about Russia's willingness to export nuclear know-how to countries the West considers repressive or hostile, our reporter adds.

Russia's nuclear cooperation with Iran - who the US and other nations accuse of trying to develop nuclear weapons - has been a source of tension between Moscow and western nations.

Human rights and arms control organisations have also accused Russia of an unethical willingness to do business with repressive regimes.

The military have ruled Burma since 1962. Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, whose NLD party won general elections in 1990, has been under house arrest in the capital, Rangoon, for several years.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6658713.stm
 

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possible Myanmar N-site

Melbourne, July 24 -- Satellite images seem to have discovered an installation that is part of the long-suspected secret Myanmarese nuclear programme, the military journal Jane's Intelligence Review says. The photos of buildings and security fences near the Burmese capital, Naypyidaw, confirm reports by Myanmar army defector Major Sai Thein Win of machine tool factories and other plants alleged to be part of a nascent programme to build nuclear weapons, the magazine reports.

Major Sai said he worked at two factories involved in the nuclear program. His report to a Burmese opposition news website, Democratic Voice of Burma, based in Norway, included documents and colour photographs of the interior of the installations.

"'They will not make a bomb with the technology they currently possess or the intellectual capability," Jane's analyst Allison Puccioni was quoted as saying in The Age newspaper. "The two factors do make it possible to have a route to one.

" US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recently expressed concern that North Korea and Burma may be expanding military ties and sharing nuclear technology. Indian intelligence has in the past reported that renegade Pakistani nuclear scientists, some fleeing the West after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, have turned up in Myanmar before disappearing.

Myanmar has also sent dozens of its best students to China and elsewhere to study nuclear physics - despite having no publicly recognised nuclear reactors or facilities.
http://in.news.yahoo.com/32/20100724/1053/tnl-satellite-images-of-possible-myanmar_1.html

IF this is true then most of the our border coverd with nuclear neighbours
 

sandeepdg

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Myanmar 'nuclear plans' exposed

An investigation by an anti-government Myanmar broadcaster has found evidence that it says shows the country's military regime has begun a programme to develop nuclear weapons.

Journalists from the Norway-based Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) have been gathering information about secret military projects in Myanmar for years.

But they say recent revelations from a former army officer show that the military government is pushing ahead with ambitions to become a nuclear power.

The allegations are contained in a special documentary produced by the DVB being aired by Al Jazeera.

On Thursday evening, shortly before the film was due to be broadcast, US Senator Jim Webb announced he was postponing his scheduled trip to Myanmar in response to allegations in the documentary.


"Until there is further clarification on these matters, I believe it would be unwise and potentially counterproductive for me to visit Burma," Webb, who is the Democratic chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee Subcommittee on East Asia and Pacific Affairs, told reporters in Bangkok.

Burma is the former name of Myanmar.

Webb had been due to fly to Myanmar late on Thursday for talks with detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and senior officials in the country's reclusive military junta.

Defector speaks out

The producers of the DVB documentary say evidence of Myanmar's nuclear programme has come from top-secret material smuggled out of the country over several years, including hundreds of files and other evidence provided by Sai Thein Win, a former major in Myanmar's army.

Sai Thein Win says he was deputy commander of a highly classified military factory that was the headquarters of the army's nuclear battalion.

But he says he decided to defect and bring top-secret evidence of the project with him.

"They really want a bomb, that is their main objective," he says in the film.

"They want to have the rockets and nuclear warheads."

His smuggled files were shown to Robert Kelley, the former director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), who told the producers they showed clear indications of a programme to build atomic weapons.

"It appears it is a nuclear weapons program because there is no conceivable use for this for nuclear power or anything like that," he says.

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia-pacific/2010/06/2010642542469132.html
 

LurkerBaba

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They seemed to have stopped their Nuclear program

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SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Myanmar has abandoned research on a nuclear program that never progressed very far, and has stepped back from close military and political ties with North Korea, the Southeast Asian country's defense minister said on Saturday.

News reports two years ago indicated Myanmar obtained technology for enriching uranium from North Korea along with parts for a nuclear weapons program. The reports were based on interviews with an army major who was involved in the program and defected with files he said documented the project.

"We have already said very clearly it was not for defense, it was not for weapons, it was just research in the past," the defense minister, Lieutenant General Hla Min, said at the Shangri-La Dialogue, an annual security forum in Singapore attended by senior regional civilian and military leaders.

Myanmar abandons nuclear research: defense minister - Yahoo! News
 

Vishwarupa

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Last thing India wants is another nuclear neighbor. What is our external agencies & security agencies doing to neutralize Myanmar from going nuclear.
 

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