Will India have to contend with another nucleararmed neighbour? A recent report by the Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) suggests that Myanmar's military junta is nursing nuclear ambitions and has tapped North Korea to realise them.
The reasons for these aspirations aren't hard to guess.
The generals who rule the country are under pressure from the international community to restore civilian rule.
Their lesson from the politics of North Korea and Iran, and the experience of Saddam Hussein's Iraq is that the best way to neutralise foreign intervention is to possess a nuclear weapon.
The ISIS has published photographs of what it claims is construction work on a possible nuclear reactor site near Mandalay.
The ISIS report, published a week ago, was written by leading proliferation experts David Albright and Paul Brannan.
The document focuses on the Myanmarese junta's clandestine dealings with North Korea and its apparent efforts to mislead overseas suppliers on its attempts to obtain nuclear technology.
The reports is titled ' Burma: A nuclear wannabe; suspicious links to North Korea; high- tech procurements and enigmatic facilities'. It says: " For several years, suspicions have swirled about the nuclear intentions of Burma's secretive military dictatorship… Certain equipment, which could be used in a nuclear or missile programme, went to isolated Burmese manufacturing compounds of unknown purpose." The report tempers these findings with the proviso that there is no concrete evidence that Myanmar is building secret nuclear reactors or fuel cycle facilities.
However, it states that because Myanmar is buying a wide variety of suspicious dual- use goods, governments and companies need to be more vigilant in examining the country's inquiries or requests for equipment. In the past, Myanmar has harboured nuclear ambitions in a more open manner. In 2007, it signed an MoU with the Russian atomic energy agency to establish a nuclear studies centre, build a 10- megawatt nuclear research reactor for peaceful purposes and train several hundred technicians in its operation.
The ISIS report claims that Myanmar's military cooperation with North Korea has increased over the past several years. It states that the reported presence of officials from North Korean company Namchongang Trading - the UN Security Council has imposed sanctions on it - in Myanmar is proof of their collaboration.
But there is no definite evidence that Korea is supplying Myanmar a nuclear reactor.
The document assumes significance in the context of the global nuclear security summit in Washington in April, where India will be represented by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
The summit will provide an opportunity to discuss practical ways to block illicit trade in nuclear materials. New Delhi is concerned over nuclear proliferation by neighbouring Pakistan as well as North Korea and Iran.
Experts in India are, however, sceptical about such reports emanating from Washington. " While the junta may have such intentions, it is not yet clear whether they are trying to develop a nuclear power plant or making weapons," says Dr Udai Bhanu Singh of the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses. Sources in the Indian embassy in Yangon also say they have no proof about Myanmar's nuclear facilities.
STIRRING THE NUCLEAR POT
A report by US proliferation experts says the junta in Myanmar is building a nuclear reactor at a site near Mandalay with North Korea's help. However, there's no foolproof evidence.
Source :http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/Story/82557/World/N+Korea+role+in+Myanmar+N-plot.html
Comments
Post a Comment