US officials continue dialogue with navy

US officials continue dialogue with navy

By Tim McLaughlin   |   Monday, 29 April 2013

The navy's top brass met United States officials in Nay Pyi Taw last week in another indication of the country's strong desire to engage with Myanmar's military and its naval realignment to the Asia-Pacific region.

US naval attaché Captain Sean Cannon, defence attaché Colonel William Dickey and US ambassador to Myanmar Derek Mitchell met Commander-in- Chief of the Navy Vice Admiral Thura Thet Swe on April 23.

A US embassy spokesperson said the group met Vice Admiral Thura Thet Swe as part of an "ongoing discussion" with Myanmar's military leaders.

He said the US is continuing to take "a measured and calibrated approach" to engagement with the Tatmadaw.

"We are talking about role of the military. We want to get more exposure to the military and more interaction with the military here. It is good for the relationship for that to happen," the spokesperson said.

Vice Admiral Thura Thet Swe was promoted to head of the navy in August 2012 when his predecessor U Nyan Tun was appointed vice president following the retirement of Thiha Thura U Tin Aung Myint Oo.

Capt Cannon is stationed in Bangkok, while Col Dickey, of the US Army, is based at the US embassy in Yangon.

Nilanthi Samaranayake, a research analyst at CNA, a not-for-profit research and analysis organisation based in Virginia, said that the visit showed "US interest in incremental engagement with the Myanmar Navy".

This maritime engagement, though still cautious, is likely to focus on more than military-related naval issues.

"There is much worthy of maritime coordination, such as humanitarian assistance and disaster relief," Ms Samaranayake said, citing the US Navy's efforts to provide aid following the destruction of Cyclone Nargis in 2008.

The meeting is not the first between officials from the two navies since Washington began warming to President Thein Sein's reformist government.

On November 18, 2012 – a day before President Barack Obama's landmark trip to Yangon – Myanmar naval officers toured amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard while it was in the Andaman Sea.

"The dialogue provided an opportunity to have a frank and open discussion with the Burmese military on human rights and rule of law issues and concerns," the US Pacific Command said in a statement at the time.

These nascent interactions fit with the broader realignment of US naval activities from the Middle East to the Asia-Pacific region. Last year US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta said the US Navy will reposition 60 percent of its warships into Asia by 2020 and increase the number of military exercises it conducts in the region.

Source: http://www.news.myanmaronlinecentre.com/2013/06/29/us-officials-continue-dialogue-with-navy/