Burma Government Makes Arms 27/7/98

[moe@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Jane's: Burma Government Makes Arms 

SINGAPORE -- (Reuters) Burma's military government has begun making small
arms in a factory built by a Singapore government-owned company, Jane's
Defense Weekly said in its latest issue. 

"Burma...has begun manufacturing small arms, and possibly ordnance, using a
prefabricated factory designed and built by Chartered Industries of
Singapore in conjunction with Israeli consultants," Jane's said in an
article on Wednesday. 

The report, if true, would raise eyebrows in Western liberal democracies and
also within the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), of which
Burma and Singapore are members, analysts said. 

With Singapore the next country due to take over the chair of ASEAN, people
will be paying more attention to its relations with Burma, said a Western
diplomat. 

"The reaction from the international community would not be positive," said
Sorpong Peou, a fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in
Singapore. 

Officials at Chartered Industries, a Singapore government-owned company,
could not be reached for comment on the report. 

A Ministry of Defense spokeswoman also had no comment, saying such a sale
would be a commercial matter. 

The Jane's report said the purpose-built factory was produced last year in
Singapore before being shipped to Yangon in February 1998, and would make
small arms and ammunition up to 37 mm in caliber. 

An assault rifle or light machine gun would be among the first items
produced, it said. 

Analysts said that while the deal was commercially pragmatic for Singapore,
human rights and security issues were thorny. 

Burma's military junta has engaged in a series of conflicts with minority
ethnic groups seeking more autonomy, although the level of fighting has
dwindled in recent years. 

The junta has come under fire from human rights groups and some Western
governments for refusing to recognize the results of the last general
election, in May 1990, and suppressing opposition parties since. 

Countries such as the United States and Canada have imposed trade sanctions
on Burma, including bars on military sales. 

However, Singapore and various other Southeast Asian nations have criticized
that approach as ineffectual, supporting instead what they call a policy of
constructive engagement, which includes encouraging trade and investment. 

Asia is a big market for arms manufacturers, and many countries, including
the United States, deal in the region through offices in Singapore. 

Singapore itself makes many of the arms used by its own military forces and
also exports them to other countries. 

"We are a major center for arms trading, this is a known fact....we buy and
sell arms for other people," said Chia Woon Khien, head of Asian research at
Skandinaviska Enskilda Bank. 

"A lot of major countries are guilty of doing this sort of thing," she said,
adding it posed "no cause for alarm." 

She said Singapore was a small country and its involvement in Burma might
not draw as much censure as would that of a larger country. 

But some analysts expect the deal to spark discord in ASEAN. 

"Thailand would be against it because the two countries have cross-border
issues anyway. They would not be happy," said one political analyst who
declined to be identified. 

"Burma is definitely a hot spot within ASEAN." 

Pressure has been building within ASEAN to allow nations more open comment
on member countries' internal affairs and Thailand has recently been
criticized by Burma on this issue. 

Thailand is the country most likely to have a strong opinion about the
reported Singapore-Burma arms deal, analysts say. ASEAN foreign ministers
meet in the Philippines this week, where one of the issues is expected to be
how much comment about each other's affairs should be permitted. ( (c) 1998
Reuters)