VZCZCXRO2858
PP RUEHBI RUEHCHI RUEHCI RUEHCN
DE RUEHCI #0171/01 1421353
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 221353Z MAY 07
FM AMCONSUL KOLKATA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1564
INFO RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 1483
RUEHCG/AMCONSUL CHENNAI 0656
RUEHBI/AMCONSUL MUMBAI 0651
RUEHGO/AMEMBASSY RANGOON PRIORITY 0283
RUEHBK/AMEMBASSY BANGKOK 0167
RUEHCHI/AMCONSUL CHIANG MAI 0025
RUEHCN/AMCONSUL CHENGDU 0074
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 0113
RUEHKT/AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU 0431
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD 0350
RUEIDN/DNI WASHINGTON DC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RHMFIUU/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI
RUEHCI/AMCONSUL KOLKATA 1925

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KOLKATA 000171 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL MARR PHUM PGOV IN BM CH
SUBJECT: INDIAN MILITARY ENGAGING WITH BURMESE COUNTERPARTS 
 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary:  During April and May, Senior Indian military 
officials appear to have undertaken a concerted effort to 
increase engagement with their Burmese counterparts.  Several 
meetings have taken place both at political and military levels 
between officials of the two neighboring countries.  Reportedly, 
the Indian Government has promised the Burmese a supply of 
military hardware, joint training exercises and greater cross 
border cooperation, especially in cracking down on ethnic 
militants.  While seeking to combat militant groups through 
military cooperation, according to local contacts, India also is 
hoping to use the closer relations to temper the perceived 
growing Chinese influence in Burma.  End Summary. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) On May 10, Indian Navy Chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta 
left on a nine-day visit to Burma to further India's policy of 
increasing military engagement with their neighbor.  Mehta 
reportedly held talks with top leaders of the Burma government 
on bilateral military cooperation.  During April 1-5, Burma Navy 
Chief Vice-Admiral Soe Thane had visited Delhi and Indian naval 
establishments on a goodwill tour.  Thane, met Indian Defense 
Minister A.K. Antony and Mehta, and is understood to have 
presented a case for procuring naval hardware from India. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Also, following the visits of Indian Foreign Minister 
Pranab Mukherjee in January and by Home Secretary V.K. Duggal in 
February to Burma, an 18-member Burmese Army delegation visited 
Tezpur in Assam on April 26, to attend the Indo-Burma biannual 
meeting.  The Burma delegation led by Brig. Gen. Tin Maung Ohn 
interacted with senior Indian Army officers and called on the 
General Officer Commanding of 4 Corp Lt. Gen. R.K. Chhabra to 
discuss various issues including cross border insurgency, 
smuggling and border management.  The Burma delegation also 
visited Rangapahar in Nagaland and Eastern Command headquarters 
in Kolkata between April 23 and 25. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) In Tezpur, the Indian Army officers reiterated the 
need for the Burmese Army to cooperate in flushing out 
Northeast-based Indian insurgents, who are holed-up in the 
jungles of western Burma, such as the United Liberation Front of 
Asom (ULFA) and the National Socialist Council of Nagaland - 
Kaplang faction (NSCN-K).  In return, the Burmese Army 
delegation requested technical assistance from the Indian Army. 
At the meeting in Rangapahar, Nagaland, Indian Army reportedly 
agreed to train a Burmese Army team in the Counter Insurgency 
and Jungle Warfare School in Vairengte, Mizoram, in return for 
Burmese cooperation to root out Indian insurgents from its soil. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Issues like drug trafficking and effective border 
management figured high on the agenda particularly in the wake 
of violence unleashed by Indian separatist ULFA militants in 
parts of the northeastern state of Assam.  The Indian Army has 
always maintained that ULFA and NSCN-K have bases in Burma, and 
New Delhi has been demanding a crackdown on the insurgent groups 
operating from Burma -- similar to the 2003 Bhutan Army 
operation against ULFA.  Other insurgent groups operating from 
across the border include the United Nationalist Liberation 
Front (UNLF) and the People's Liberation Army (PLA). 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Media reported that in a separate visit to Delhi on 
April 24, 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.  Gen. Tin Aung 
Myint Oo, who supervises all military supplies to Burma's armed 
forces, during the meeting presented the Indian Army brass a 
list of military hardware that Burma wants India to supply.  The 
Government of India (GOI) reportedly has approved the transfer 
of some military hardware, including 105 mm howitzers, mortars, 
grenade launchers and possibly T-55 tanks.  India is also 
sending two Islander surveillance aircraft that have been 
decommissioned by the Navy. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) COMMENT:  GOI appears to be significantly stepping-up 
its military engagement with the Burmese junta as evidenced by 
the number and level of the various bilateral interactions.  GOI 
is partly motivated by the presence of Indian militants 
operating out of Burma and the increase in ULFA's violent 
activities since October 2006, following a failed ceasefire. 
 
KOLKATA 00000171  002 OF 002 
 
 
Another motivating factor, as expressed by local contacts to 
Post, appears to be the GOI's concern over the perceived growing 
Chinese influence in the Burma.  However, it is unlikely that 
India can match China's investment and influence in Burma and 
risks helping to undermine international efforts to isolate 
Burma for little substantive gain. 
 
¶8.  (U) This message was coordinated with AmEmbassies New Delhi 
and Rangoon. 
JARDINE