Bangkok Post News (15199)

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Headlines
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1):Six Burmese arrested with rifles in raid
2):Casino cljoses for two days
3):Burma wants to hold talks on Ranong naval clash

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1):Six Burmese arrested with rifles in raid

Six Burmese men were arrested  with weapons and ammunition at a
Sangkhla Buri district house yesterday.

The men were initially charged with illegal entry and possessing
weapons without permits. They were subsequently sent to the 9th
Infantry Division headquarters for further questioning.

The search of the house near Srisuwannaram temple in Nong U
tambon was made by army personnel from the Surasee Task Force of
the 9th division and Muang and Sangkhla Buri police with a
warrant issued by the Kanchanaburi Court.

The authorities seized three rifles, a shotgun and a quantity of
assorted ammunition.

Source said the action was conducted in secret as the Burmese,
one of them said to be a captain identified as Yang Chu, were
believed to be  operating intelligence work.

Ninth Infantry Division commander Maj-Gen Sanchai Ratchatawan
confirmed the arrest.

The six were  initially charged with illegal entry and possession
of war weapons but no further charges have been made pending
further investigation.

"We believe they are spies, but cannot put that officially for
fear that it may affect relations with Burma," said Maj-Gen
Sanchai, also commander of the task force in charge of security
at the Thai-Burmese border in Kanchanaburi.

Border sources said that the six could have been sent to gather
intelligence information prior to a military drive against
minorities across the border.

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2):Casino cljoses for two days

A Thai-owned casino in Tachilek Burma, supposedly operating
without permission, has closed for two days for fear of legal
action.

The VIP Casino, reportedly owned by Adul Boonset, a close aide of
opposition leader Gen Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, is part of a planned
mega entertainment complex sited around five kilometres from the
border.

The Burmese authorities say the  company investing in the complex
has failed to secure extended permission to set up and run the
casino.

Law enforcers were supposedly planning a raid and Thais were told
to stay away.

Bandit Siritanyong, coordinator of the M Y Group which owns the
entertainment establishment, said the casino has closed pending

talks on its future.

He denied Rangoon had twice warned the casino to cease
operations, as earlier claimed by the Thai-Burmese border
coordination unit.

He said the casino was spearheading an ambitious project to
develop a 2,800-rai entertainment complex with a 30-year
concession renewable for another 30 years.
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3): Burma wants to hold talks on Ranong naval clash
Thais allegedly fired on boat and pagoda

Burma has tabled a request for a meeting of the Thai-Burmese local border
committee to settle the two countries' outstanding maritime disputes after the
latest naval clash in the Andaman Sea off Ranong province on Tuesday.

The call was made in an aide memoire submitted on Tuesday to Thai Ambassador
to Rangoon Pensak Chalarak by Nyunt Maung Sein, chief of Burma's Department of
Political Affairs.

A Thai navy patrol boat clashed with two Burmese frigates after it fired on an
unidentified armed vessel, believed to be Burmese, which was chasing three
Thai trawlers off Ranong on Tuesday.

Foreign Minister Surin Pitsuwan said yesterday he would soon summon Burmese
Ambassador Hla Maung to explain the Thai side of the story.

In the aide memoire, Rangoon claimed the Burmese naval vessel, Yan Naing 510,
was fired on by a Thai naval vessel with small and heavy arms for about 20
minutes in Burmese waters west of Thahtay Kyun island.

The Burmese boat sustained some damage but managed to limp back to Kawthaung.
Also, a pagoda on nearby Zalon island was also damaged by gunfire from the
Thai vessel, charged another aide memoire submitted yesterday to the Thai
embassy in Rangoon.

U Nyunt Maung Sein said that such incidents could only jeopardise bilateral
relations, especially just before Burmese Foreign Minister Win Aung's
forthcoming visit to Bangkok at the invitation of Mr Surin.

He urged that the local-level boundary committee meet to try to settle the
conflict.

According to Ambassador Pensak, the first shot was not fired by the Thai navy
vessel. He also told the Burmese official that he felt "disappointed" to have
received three protest notes from Rangoon in three weeks, and urged both sides
to refrain from using force.

A high-ranking naval officer who requested anonymity said yesterday that the
Thai navy also wanted to hold talks with Burma to settle their maritime
conflicts.

He suggested that the disputed waters be declared a zone free of naval forces
from both countries, and that fishing in the area be opened to both sides or
on a joint venture basis.

Adm Thira Haocharoen, the navy chief, yesterday flashed a circular to all
naval fleets urging their officers and men to exercise restraint and caution
in the wake of Tuesday's clash.

The navy also maintained that the Burmese armed vessel involved in the
shooting on Tuesday had trespassed on Thai waters.

Thai fishing trawlers have also been warned not to fish near the three
disputed islands off the coast of Ranong to avoid any further attacks.

The Ranong Fisheries Association yesterday issued a warning and called for
government-level negotiations to settle the dispute over the islets between
Thailand and Burma.


"The two governments should urgently hold talks on border demarcation over the
unclear border areas to settle the problem. As long as the problem remains
unresolved, the lives of local fishermen will be at risk. In the past, several
fishing vessels have been seized by Burmese troops for fishing in the disputed
maritime territory," said a senior member of the association.

Thailand, holding a French chart, claims the right over the islets while
Burma with a British-made chart also wants to control the areas.

The Navy has deployed boats and planes to patrol areas near the disputed
islands.

Commander Nirut Khamsan, of the Third Fleet's special flying force unit, said
more planes have been dispatched near the disputed site to boost security for
Thai trawlers.

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