Myanmar Special Weapons
Ever since independence was gained in 1948, Myanmar has claimed that it has only acquired weapons for internal security and defense against external enemies. In public statements Myanmar has consistently opposed the use of weapons of mass destruction and denied that it has ever been engaged in their manufacture, storage or use. Nevertheless, there is strong evidence of clandestine CW production in the early 1980s and it is possible that CW may have even been used, but this has never been independently confirmed. The evidence for clandestine BW production and use by the Tatmadaw is much weaker.
Ballistic Missiles
The Myanmar armed forces have never had ballistic missiles in their inventory. Reports that the regime has expressed an interest in acquiring short range ballistic missiles from China have yet to be substantiated.
Nuclear Weapons
Myanmar does not possess any nuclear weapons and has consistently opposed their use. Myanmar was among the first countries to become a State Party to the 1963 Partial Test Ban Treaty. It has also signed the 1967 Outer Space Treaty and is a State Party to the 1968 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Myanmar has signed, but not yet ratified the 1972 Seabed Treaty. Since 1988 this policy has been confirmed by the SLORC and SPDC governments. In 1995 Myanmar entered into a safeguards agreement with the IAEA, as required under the NPT, and the same year signed the Treaty of the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone.
Biological Weapons
Upon independence in 1948, Myanmar became a party to the 1925 Geneva Protocol for the Prohibition of the Use in War of Asphyxiating, Poisonous or Other Gases, and of Bacteriological Methods of Warfare. It has also signed the 1972 Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxic Weapons Convention. Despite numerous claims made since 1993 by ethnic minorities and insurgent groups to the effect that the Tatmadaw has used Biological Weapons (BW) against them, BW use by Myanmar has never been confirmed.
Chemical Weapons
In addition to being a party to the 1925 Geneva Protocol, Myanmar signed the Chemical Weapons Convention in 1993. Despite this, there have been repeated claims of Chemical Weapons (CW) use by the Tatmadaw dating back to the early 1980s, when a clandestine chemical weapons plant was apparently built by the Ne Win regime. These reports, however, have yet to be confirmed.
Myanmar (Burma) is thought to have produced chemical weapons. Its program, under development in 1983, may or may not be active today. U.S. intelligence officials told Congress in 1988 and 1991 that Burma was developing or had developed chemical weapons. According to the 1992 Defense Intelligence Agency survey produced for the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Burma has "chemical weapons and artillery for delivering chemical agents." On the other hand, the 1993 edition of the DIA report indicates that Burma is no longer developing chemical weapons. The current status of the chemical weapons program in Myanmar is unknown, though it is believed the country still holds a stockpile. Myanmar has signed the CWC treaty but has yet to ratify it.
