India Woos Burma with Weapons for Gas

New Delhi’s eagerness to supply Burma with weapons highlights new quid pro quo policies

Increased contacts between senior military chiefs o­n both sides of the Burma-India border, involving Indian weapons sales, are believed by analysts to have two primary objectives: to help flush out Burma-based Indian insurgents and to counter growing Chinese influence in Naypyidaw.

But the sale of arms and related technical equipment is also likely to be linked to New Delhi’s “Look East” economic policy, including ambitions to buy huge quantities of Burma’s offshore gas in the Bay of Bengal. If the gas bid—against rivals China and Thailand—is successful, it will also involve building a costly pipeline through rebel-infested areas of northwest Burma and northeast India.

During a visit to Burma in November, India’s Air Marshal S P Tyagi offered a multimillion dollar sale of military hardware to Naypyidaw. The package includes helicopters, technical upgrades of Burma’s Russian and Chinese-made fighter planes, naval surveillance aircraft and radar manufactured by Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited, of New Delhi.

Military sources said the Burma junta has shown interest in acquiring Bangalore-based Hindustan Aeronautics Limited-made helicopters. The air marshal’s offer includes Indian-made advanced light helicopters useful for combating insurgent groups and for rapid response military movements.

The visit of Gen Shwe Mann, the junta’s joint chief of staff, in December was expected to expand the arms sales talks.