Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD): Myanmar Special Weapons
ASIA--PACIFIC, 28 Nov 2011
Global Security – TRANSCEND Media Service
Ever since independence was gained in 1948, Myanmar has claimed that it has only acquired weapons for internal security and defense against external enemies. In public statements Myanmar has consistently opposed the use of weapons of mass destruction and denied that it has ever been engaged in their manufacture, storage or use. Nevertheless, there is strong evidence of clandestine CW production in the early 1980s and it is possible that CW may have even been used, but this has never been independently confirmed. The evidence for clandestine BW production and use by the Tatmadaw is much weaker.
Ballistic Missiles
The Myanmar armed forces have never had ballistic missiles in their inventory. Reports that the regime has expressed an interest in acquiring short range ballistic missiles from China have yet to be substantiated.
In 2004 North Korean workers were reportedly assembling “SAM missiles” and constructing an underground facility at a Burmese military site in Magway Division, about 315 miles NNW of Rangoon, reportedly in the vicinity of 20,00 N, 94,25 E. . Some 300 North Koreans were said to be working at a secret construction site west of Mimbu, Magway Division, in the foothills of the Arakan Yoma mountains. (Comment: the number of North Koreans supposedly working at this site strikes us as improbably high.) The second-hand account of North Korean involvement with missile assembly and military construction in Magway Division generally tracks with other information US Embassy Rangoon and others had reported in various channels.
Biological Weapons
Upon independence in 1948, Myanmar became a party to the 1925 Geneva Protocol for the Prohibition of the Use in War of Asphyxiating, Poisonous or Other Gases, and of Bacteriological Methods of Warfare. It has also signed the 1972 Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxic Weapons Convention. Despite numerous claims made since 1993 by ethnic minorities and insurgent groups to the effect that the Tatmadaw has used Biological Weapons (BW) against them, BW use by Myanmar has never been confirmed.
Chemical Weapons
In addition to being a party to the 1925 Geneva Protocol, Myanmar signed the Chemical Weapons Convention in 1993. Despite this, there have been repeated claims of Chemical Weapons (CW) use by the Tatmadaw dating back to the early 1980s, when a clandestine chemical weapons plant was apparently built by the Ne Win regime. These reports, however, have yet to be confirmed.
Myanmar (Burma) is thought to have produced chemical weapons. Its program, under development in 1983, may or may not be active today. U.S. intelligence officials told Congress in 1988 and 1991 that Burma was developing or had developed chemical weapons. According to the 1992 Defense Intelligence Agency survey produced for the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Burma has “chemical weapons and artillery for delivering chemical agents.” On the other hand, the 1993 edition of the DIA report indicates that Burma is no longer developing chemical weapons. The current status of the chemical weapons program in Myanmar is unknown, though it is believed the country still holds a stockpile. Myanmar has signed the CWC treaty but has yet to ratify it.
Nuclear Weapons
Myanmar does not possess any nuclear weapons and has consistently opposed their use. Myanmar was among the first countries to become a State Party to the 1963 Partial Test Ban Treaty. It has also signed the 1967 Outer Space Treaty and is a State Party to the 1968 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Myanmar has signed, but not yet ratified the 1972 Seabed Treaty. Since 1988 this policy has been confirmed by the SLORC and SPDC governments. In 1995 Myanmar entered into a safeguards agreement with the IAEA, as required under the NPT, and the same year signed the Treaty of the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone.
Rumors of construction of a nuclear facility in/near Magway Division date back to 2002 and generally refer to alleged Goverment of Burma (GOB) and Russian cooperation on a nuclear research reactor project. Similar rumors, sans the “Russia” angle, have been circulating with greater frequency within diplomatic and expatriate circles since a November 2003 Far Eastern Economic Review (FEER) article which described signs of growing military ties between North Korea and Burma. While we have no direct evidence of this alleged cooperation, rumors of ongoing construction of a nuclear reactor are surprisingly consistent and observations of activity such as that described above appear to be increasing, as are alleged sightings of North Korean “technicians” inside Burma.
An expatriate businessman volunteered to a US Embassy Officer in January 2004 that he had heard rumors that a nuclear reactor was being built near Minbu, in central Magway Division on the Irawaddy River. The businessman added that he personally had seen a “massive” barge containing large-sized rebar being unloaded on a trip to the area. After asking local residents about the rebar’s purpose, he was told that similar size barge shipments were arriving almost weekly and that the rebar was to be used in the construction of unnamed/unidentified factories. In the opinion of the businessman, the quantities involved as well as the diameter of the rebar suggested a project larger than “factories.” Along these lines, the businessman noted that there was a new airport near Minbu with a landing strip that, based on its length and thickness, seemed excessive, adding that “you could land the space shuttle on it.”
In August 2009 the Australian Ambassador to Burma Michelle Chan related reports that the Burma-DPRK connection was not just about conventional weapons. There was said to be a peaceful nuclear component intended to address Burma’s chronic lack of electrical power generation. A Burma-Russia agreement for development of a peaceful nuclear reactor was just for software and training. The DPRK agreement was for “hardware.” Burma’s Army Chief of Staff (third highest ranking) General Thura Shwe Mann visited the DPRK in November 2008. Thura Shwe Mann is in charge of all military activities. Given sanctions, Burma really has “no other options” but to develop the relationship with North Korea. According to some sources, as of 2009 the Burma-DPRK conversations were merely “exploratory.” Russia is the key GOB partner for a nuclear reactor, but there had been no progress by 2010. Russia proposed a commercial deal, and Myanmar cannot afford it.
A five-year investigation by the Burmese dissident group Democratic Voice of Burma claimed to have uncovered evidence that Burma is embarking on a programme to develop nuclear weaponry. At the center of the investigation is Sai Thein Win, a former defense engineer and missile expert. Robert Kelley, former director of the International Atomic Energy Agency, believes Burma’s intent is clear: to build a nuclear bomb. Kelley had spent months scouring photographs and documents provided by a former Burmese defense engineer who recently fled the country.
During a regional Southeast Asia security forum in July 2010, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton mentioned reports that Burma recently received a shipment of military equipment from North Korea. Clinton also said Washington is concerned about reports the Burmese military junta is seeking help from North Korea on a possible nuclear program. But several nuclear weapons experts and intelligence officials called into question the conclusions of this high-profile June report alleging the junta controlling Myanmar had launched a covert nuclear weapons program.
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