Myanmar's regime has made plans to build an airbase in the southern district of Tenasserim, with support from China, opposition radio monitored in Bangkok reported on Sunday.
“The State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) military government has planned to build an airbase in Tenasserim division with fighters and helicopters from China,” the democratic voice of Burma said.
The SPDC is the official name for the Yangon Junta. Surveys were carried out since June. Construction materials were shipped from Rangoon (Yangon) to Mergui.
“China would provide eight fighter planes, eight helicopters and a radar station,” the radio said. “Villagers will be moved out of the area and their land will be confiscated to make room for the base,” it said.
China, the first country to recognise Myanmar's military regime after it seized power in a bloody coup in September 1988, is the Junta's main arms supplier.
According to a senior official in Yangon, the Junta'a army chief of staff, Lieutenant General Tin Oo, made an unpublicized trip to China on May 23, allegedly to make new arms purchases. Bureau Report