Indo-Burma biannual army meet
27 April, 2007 (FIDSNS)
An 18-member Burmese Army delegation arrived in Tezpur, Assam on 26 April, to attend the Indo-Burma biannual meeting.
The Burma delegation led by Brig Gen Tin Maung Ohn earlier visited Rangapahar and Kolkata between April 23 and 25.
The delegation will interact with senior Indian Army officers and call on the General Officer Commanding Lt. Gen. R.K. Chhabbar of the Gajraj Corps.
On the first day of the meeting in Tezpur, Indian Army officers reiterated the need for the Burmese Army to cooperate in flushing out Indian insurgents, who are holed up in the jungles of western Burma.
In return, the Burmese Army delegation requested for technical assistance from the Indian Army.
At the meeting in Rangapahar, Nagaland, Indian Army officers agreed to train a Burmese Army team in the Counter Insurgency & Jungle Warfare School in Vairengte, Mizoram, as assistance in return for Burmese cooperation to root out Indian insurgents from its soil.
In a separate visit to New Delhi on Monday, the Burmese Army’s quartermaster general, Thiha Thura and Lt-Gen Tin Aung Myint Oo, arrived with a military “shopping list” and met Indian counterparts Lt-Gen Sudhir Sharma and Vice Chief of Army Staff Lt-Gen Deepak Kapoor.
Tin Aung Myint Oo, who oversees all military supplies to Burma’s armed forces, during the meeting, presented the Indian Army brass a list of military hardware that Burma reportedly wants India to supply.
Tin Aung Myint Oo, was said to have requested for more supplies of infantry weapons and ammunition in return for Burma’s help in flushing out Indian insurgents sheltered in its soil. The list also includes small arms like assault rifles, light machine guns and side arms.
The liaison biannual meetings are held to review and strengthen bilateral relations and discuss issues of mutual interest between the two armies. The next meeting between both sides will be held in Burma.