 |
| Australian Navy Patrol Boat HMAS Childers (File Photo) |
By Tim McLaughlin
While the critics watch ties with the country’s army, foreign navies are stepping up their maritime engagement.
For the past year and a half Myanmar’s ports have been busy, and not just with aging fishing boats delivering the day’s catch or overcrowded ferries taking passengers across the Yangon River. The port is welcoming an increasingly wide range of international naval vessels – an indicator perhaps that military engagement on the water is a less critically viewed means of reaching out to the Myanmar armed forces.
The most recent of these foreign visits took place on January 20 when Australia’s HMAS Childers became the first warship from that country to visit Myanmar since the HMAS Quiberon in 1959, according to the Australian government.
While its 27 crew members took part in sporting competitions and enjoyed reciprocal visits with their Myanmar counterparts, Royal Australian Navy Captain Jon Dudley was named Australia’s resident defense attaché to Myanmar, a position that had remained vacant since 1979. The appointment underscores the role that Canberra believes the navy will play in its military engagement with Myanmar.
Read the full story at The Diplomat