May 16, 2007:
India has agreed to sell Myanmar (Burma) two more elderly BN-2 Defender
reconnaissance aircraft. India delivered two of these aircraft to Myanmar last
year. Technically, this was illegal, as Britain, which supplied the aircraft to
India three decades ago, is supposed to have a veto over subsequent transfers
of the British made, twin engine, aircraft. The BN-2 Islander is a three ton
light transport aircraft developed in the 1960s. It's a very popular design,
and a military version, the "Defender" was developed in 1970. India bought 18
of them in the 1970s, and used them for maritime reconnaissance. The ones
delivered to Myanmar are stripped of all weapons, partly to appease the
British. India also said Myanmar would only use the aircraft for air-sea search
and rescue, not for supports the war against the tribes in northern Myanmar.
Earlier this year. India agreed to supply Myanmar
with weapons and military equipment, as well as refurbishment of Myanmars aging
warplanes (mainly MiG-21s). Myanmar has been ruled by a military dictatorship
for over four decades, and has become something of an international pariah.
India, however, shares a 1,500 kilometer border with Myanmar. That border is in
an area where India has had problems with tribal separatists for decades. So
supplying heavy weapons (mortars, rifles and machine-guns), a few helicopters
and some repairs and upgrades to their MiG-21s, is a way to getting Myanmar to
be more cooperative along the border. Some of the tribal rebel groups have
established camps just across the border in Myanmar. A more cooperative Myanmar
would shut down all those camps, and more aggressively patrol the area, to
prevent the Indian tribals from setting up new ones. There has been some such
cooperation in the past, and the new deal is apparently meant to encourage even
more.