Myanmar’s junta chief Min Aung Hlaing attended an event on Saturday in Yangon to mark the 75th anniversary of the founding of the navy during which five ships were handed to the coastguard.

The junta media reported that two fast patrol crafts were built by Myanmar’s naval engineers using imported technologies. Two landing crafts and a water tanker were imported.

Min Aung Hlaing told the ceremony that the new crafts could be used in amphibious operations.

He might hope his naval forces can step up attacks on resistance groups along the Chindwin and Ayeyarwady rivers in Sagaing and Magwe regions, which are resistance strongholds.

Naval vessels transporting soldiers, weapons and food have been targeted by resistance groups along the Chindwin River in Sagaing.

The navy has also been targeted by the Arakan Army in Rakhine State. The junta and the armed group have been observing an informal ceasefire since late November while the regime is reinforcing troops.

The junta boss reportedly boasted that the landing crafts are equipped with armored plates for better protection from enemy fire during river battles and amphibious operations.

The regime in October last year formed the coastguard, a policy adopted from the ousted National League for Democracy government, with four vessels to protect the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea coastlines.

The junta boss called for crafts to be used in shallow water on the Ayeyarwady and Chindwin rivers, in the Ayeyarwady Delta and along other long rivers.

Vice Admiral Igor Mukhametshin of the Russian navy and Russian ambassador Nikolay Listopadov attended the event along with naval and air force chiefs.

The army is increasingly suffering from declining morale, desertions and daily casualties across the country. Many aircraft were commissioned on the 75th anniversary of the founding of the air force on December 15.

Source:
courtesy of THE IRRAWADDY

by THE IRRAWADDY

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