NEWS OF THE DAY : India nudges Myanmar crackdown on Naga rebels

India’s improved ties with Myanmar led to that country’s crackdown in late January on the National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Khaplang (NSCN-K), considered the mother lode of most extremist groups in the northeast.

Another factor that made the Tatmadaw — Myanmar’s military — takes over the headquarters of NSCN-K in an operation from January 29 to February 5, was the Naga outfit’s violation of an agreement not to allow Myanmar territory to be used by “any rebel group to attack a neighbouring country (India)”.

According to The Irrawaddy, a Myanmar-based publication, the Tatmadaw took over the NSCN-K’s headquarters, three outposts and two military training schools in the Taga area of Sagaing Region. The schools were run by rebel groups “fighting the Indian government in Assam and Manipur” under the NSCN-K’s supervision.

A top government official said the takeover of the NSCN-K headquarters was a significant development as Taga was the collective headquarters of all extremist groups active in the northeast, except the Isak-Muivah faction of NSCN that has been on ceasefire mode since 1997.

Taga is close to the Indian border. Extremist groups such as United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) and United National Liberation Front of Manipur are known to use jungle routes for hit-and-run operations in India from the NSCN-K’s base.

New Delhi has been constantly conveying to Myanmar the problems created by these outfits. The interaction with the Myanmar government intensified after the NSCN-K split last year and many of its Indian members returned. “We told the Myanmar government that they needed to act,” the official said.

He said all the outfits that the NSCN-K sheltered have vacated the Taga area and are out of reach. “Members of the NSCN-K faction comprising Myanmar nationals are still there. The government there wants it to engage in the nationwide ceasefire agreement but is clear that the Indians must leave,” he added.

The official said NSCN-K’s military chief Niki Sumi, among the last Indian Nagas in the outfit, moved north towards the China border after the crackdown. “The Myanmar Army is putting pressure on them; they don’t want bloodshed,” he said.

Sumi carries an award of Rs.10 lakh on his head.

Outlawed in India, the NSCN-K had in March 2015 abrogated a 14-year ceasefire agreement with New Delhi and perpetrated a string of attacks, including the killing of 18 soldiers in an ambush in Manipur in June that year.

There has been no word about the rebels belonging to the other northeastern outfits, specifically the Kathe (Manipuri) groups the Tatmadaw is after. But the Indian Army and the paramilitary Assam Rifles have strengthened vigil along the 1,643 km border with Myanmar, in a bid to intercept them.

Apart from these groups, the Indian armed forces are also on the lookout for possible infiltration by members of the Arakan Army, a Myanmarese rebel group active in the Chin State bordering Mizoram, following the intensification of conflict with the Tatmadaw.

U.K. offers collaboration in fighter tech, carriers

The IAF has floated a tender for 114 fighter jets, while a proposed fifth generation stealth fighter, the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA), is on the drawing board.

As the Indian Air Force (IAF) continues its efforts to procure new fighter jets, the U.K. has made a pitch for cooperation in the fields of building aircraft carriers and future fighter aircraft technologies.

“It is not a selling proposition. It is a partnership building exercise on how India and the U.K. can collaborate as future defence technologies are increasingly going to be delivered by collaborative programmes,” British High Commissioner in India Dominic Asquith said at Aero India 2019 held from February 20 to 24.

The IAF has floated a tender for 114 fighter jets, while a proposed fifth generation stealth fighter, the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA), is on the drawing board.

Sir Dominic said that on the naval side, they were looking at collaboration in aircraft carriers “where our capabilities and Indian interests are very closely aligned”.

‘Combat plan’

Talking of the U.K.’s air combat strategy, he said it was essentially the “research and development of technologies for future air platforms which we would like to do in partnership with others”.

As part of the air combat strategy, BAE Systems has begun the Tempest project to develop sixth generation stealth fighters to replace the Typhoons in service with the Royal Air Force and are scheduled to be phased out by 2040.

‘Concept stage’

Savraj Sidhu, a member of the Future air combat team of the UK Ministry of Defence, said the project is now at the concept stage and they still do not know what it will look like or who the partners are.

Preliminary discussions are also on with Sweden, and Japan in addition to other allies.

“We are going to have exploratory discussions to understand what the Indian requirements are for future air combat and whether they align with the U.K. and hopefully start a long detailed discussion after Aero India,” he said.

The Tempest project is jointly led by the U.K. government, BAE Systems, Rolls Royce, Leonardo and MBDA. Andrew Pulford, senior military adviser to the BAE, told The Hindu that Team Tempest is about to deliver a technology demonstrator and it is likely to be done by 2035.

Talking of carrier cooperation, Air Marshal Stuart Evans of the Royal Air Force and Deputy Air Commander, Allied Air Command said that comparing the nature of the two carrier programmes and some of the others globally, the Indian and UK are the most similar in terms of requirement, size and capability.

“There is huge scope for collaborative discussions on whether there could be more synergy between these two programmes.”

(SOURCE – THE HINDU)

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