US TAWAIN KMT GOLDEN TRIANGLE CREATION IN BURMA AND CONTINUING INSTABILITY IN ASIA.
In 1949 at the time the nationalist Kuomintang (KMT) separated Taiwan from Mainland China and began instigating a brutal suppressive White Terror martial law in Taiwan in occupying the island, events were underway with plans with US support to establish operations with the KMT in Burma near the border with Yunnan province China.
US supported KMT brutal Martial law lasted 38 years.
In 1950 the CIA assisted KMT soldiers to regroup in Burma after defeat in the civil war in China that preceded WW2.
Opium was about to become the prime funding with the US in the regrouping of the KMT in Burma to undertake attacks across the border in Yunnan China.
Even though small scale opium production too place in Burma the regions what now set to become the second largest illicit drug production region in the world, linking Thailand and Laos inflicting the world with the ongoing scourge that created mafia violence and countless deaths.
In January 1950 KMT General Li Mi's eight army arrived in Burma. After being disarmed by the French and attacked by Burmese troops who dislodged them from Tachilek are of north Burma Li Mi's remnant soldiers retreated forty mile west of Tachilek to Mong hat inside Burma nest to the Thailand border. General Li Mi began negotiations with Thailand for weapons and ammunition and stared alliance negotiations with Burmese rebels for support.
General Li Mi
In April 1950 the US joint Chief's of staff became aware of this situation which initiated the CIA and the office of Policy Coordination (OPC) which had a budget of 82 million dollars a year with nearly 6,000 employees to begin plans to support Li Mi's soldiers to invade Yunnan China.
This supported invasion of southern China under president Truman's orders, which was not a new concept as in May 1949 General Claire Chennault from the Flying Tigers Unit in China during WW2 requested support for the KMT who were losing the civil war in China.
He suggested US air support for KMT forces to dig in the Yunnan province. This request was rejected at the time.
However he was able to negotiate a 1 million dollar budget support from the OPC for Civil Air Transport (CAT) which was General Claire Chennault's own airline company in China along with the help of a guerrilla warfare expert Alfred T Cox from the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) which was te predecessor to the CIA dissolving in 1945.
This CAT transporting operation in support of the KMT in China served as an inspiration to the Air America covert drug war funding operations in Laos and Cambodia in the Vietnam war. In 1950 Chennault sold the CAT to the CIA for $950,000.
Reference link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_Air_Transport
CIA CAT plane with Nationalist Taiwan flag. US CAT to French in French Vietnam war.
In February 1951 an increased direct support began for Lim Mi's KMT troops who had retreated to Mong Hsat in Burma as reported by Burmese intelligence, with now CIA owned C-46 and C-47 making parachuted transport drops to Li Mi's soldiers.
From Li Mi's own account in March 1951 he had a meeting in Thailand with US aviation contractor businessmen and ex OSS officer Willis Bird who assisted in the US supply of US weapons and ammunition delivered to Li Mi's soldiers in Burma through a Police General Phao Siyanon in Thailand.
Reference Link: Alfred T Cox:
https://www.specialforcesroh.com/index.php?threads/cox-alfred-t.35940/
Reference Link General Phao Siyanon:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phao_Siyanon
Wikileaks reference to Willis Bird's activities: https://wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/05CHIANGMAI187_a.html
Willis Bird's Biography link:
https://www.specialforcesroh.com/index.php?threads/bird-willis-h.35947/
Sherman b Joost:
https://www.specialforcesroh.com/index.php?threads/joost-sherman-b-jr.36851/
Claire Chennault (right) Alfred T Cox. Willis Bird. Sherman Joost. Phao Siyanon.
with KMT leader
Chang Kai Shek.
Book reference:
The Politics of Heroin: CIA Complicity in the Global Drug Trade May 1 2003
Author: Alfred W. McCoy
Willis Bird and Sherman B Joost arranged logistics of supplies to the KMT in Burma through Alfred T Cox who was put in charge of OPC Far East Operations in 1951 being based in then British ruled Hong Kong.
Weapons shipments were smuggled through a CIA front company called Sea Supply Corporation created by lawyer and OPC official Paul Helliwell.
Paul Halliwell went on to oversee the CIA front Nugan Hand Bank that which was instrumental in laundering drug money out of Thailand and Burma which was to become the Golden triangle.
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| Pal Helliwell meeting Nugan Hand bank founders ex Vietnam soldier Michael Hand and Australian Banker Frank Nugan. Reference links: https://spartacus-educational.com/JFKnuganbank.htm https://spartacus-educational.com/JFKhelliwell.htm   Reference Link : https://aadl.org/node/245461 |
The Nugan Hand Bank that had a main office in Sydney Australia, Hong Kong and the Cayman Islands.
It has been speculated that the Nugan Hand Bank was involved in the 1975 overthrow of Australian Prime Minster Gough Whitlam who was sacked by Australian Governor general John Kerr who was an ex OSS operative in Asia.
An intermediary known as Tirath Khemlani who in 1978 undertook Trustee related business with the Nugan Hand bank's cayman Island office set up Gough Whitlam's Energy resources Minister Rex Connor who was seeking loans on behalf the Whitlam government to buy back and nationalise Australia's mining which is a big mistake to make with the US.
It was also a big issue that Gough Whitlam wanted Australian to be more independent from the US alliance.
This deal created a loans scandal which was a factor leading to Gough Whitlam's overthrow.
Paul Helliwell in creating the Sea Supply Corporation was able to mask weapons supplies to via Thailand to Li Mi's KMT troops in Burma.
Alfred Cox was also instrumental in overseeing the General Claire Chennault established and now CIA owned Civil Aviation Transport (CAT) company with an office in Hong Kong running flights from Taiwan to Hong Kong.
In 1968 CAT commercial Flight 010 was involved in an accident at hong Kong airport killing 21 of their 63 passengers.
Reference:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_Air_Transport_Flight_010
Taiwan enjoyed US military training at this time which included flight training that helped flights through a CAT unmarked C-47 flights from Taiwan with trainers military training instructors went to assist in training of Li Mi's troops in Mong hat Burma for an upcoming invasion operation of Yunnan China.
To improve logistics in Thailand on a relationship level Sheman Joost was married to the sister of Thai Airforce officer Sitthi Sawetsila who was close to Thai Police General Phao Siyanon.
Emboldened the Li Mi's KMT soldiers in Burma began exacting taxies from the Opium producing villages of Burma to create a protection of the industry as a kind of mafia.
With the KMT establishing their authority more in the region of Burma they controlled and with a CIA supplied logistical supply support, Li Mi took his troops to Mong Mao near e Burma Chinese border and establish a camp there and another at Mong Yang also near the border which received US C-47 plane supply drops.
In April 1951 Li Mi's troops crossed over into Yuannan China to attack with CIA advisers and more C-47 plane supply drops in China's sovereign territory.
Whilst they capture Kengma in Yuannan and its airfield 60 miles inside China from the border. As they moved North of Kengma they encountered a strong PLA counterattack killing some of their CIA advisers and pushing them back inside Burma.
they tried another counter offensive into Yuannan after. However that was also pushed back..
This would mark the second time a western power undertook a drug financed invasion of China after the British Opium drug financed war invasion of Hong Kong.
Narco war tactics die hard.
No matter this defeat the CIA redoubled efforts to support the KMT in Burma who recruited Burmese Hill tribe people who many of were involved in opium production into their army in Burma.
One of these Hill tribe recruits was Khun Sa who was to become the first king of the Golden Traingal International drug organisation. Under Khun Sa, herion went from 5% supplied to the streets of New York to 80% from 1974 to 1994.
His drug empire continues to follow the same Thailand Hong Kong and Taiwan export route.
Li Mi's KMT troops also formed an alliance with Karen rebels in Burma who were fighting against the Burmese U Nu government.
In August 1952 Li mi's troops attempted another invasion of Yunnan China and again they only got 60 miles before being pushed back inside Burma by the PLA.
In an interview in Taiwan in 1953 with Li Mi and Us Ambassador L Rankin present he gave an account of the operation and the drug trade to fund it along with US assistance.
With US advice Li Mi to keep the alliance with the Karen rebels in Burma in order to stop the Karen rebels from adopting socialist or Communist ideology.
This was to become a new role for Li Mi's KMT in Burma and extend their control of Burma.
To supplement this war for territory inside Burma the KMT expanded the drug trade which they gain protection profit from with territory gain.
The Burmese military uncovered that Li Mi's KMT were flying opium from Burma to Thailand and to Taiwan using US unmarked C-47 planes.
Golden Triangle International dug operations had begun.
The Burmese government undertook counter attacks on Li Mi's KMT and in the process discovered the bodies of three Anglo American men they killed and uncovered documents of the operation .
This prompted formal complaint to the United nations from the Burmese government long with military action to push the KMT resulted in the KMT losing their hold in Burma. However some remnants of the third and fifth divisions of KMT troops remained near the Burmese Thai and Laos border still controlling much of the Burmese drug trade having entitlement of getting transit tax of Opium transiting in Burma.
Some KMT soldiers went to Laos and Thailand. With no more support you can only imagine what business they would have resorted to to make ends meet.
The Golden triangle operations would expand to Thailand and Laos in cooperation with ex Burmese Shan enlisted KMT soldier Khun Sa taking some control of drug operations which would lead to a showdown between him and the KMT the and fifth troop units in 1967.
Khun Sa declared he would be the one to receive transiting tax of Opium in Burma in conflict with the KMT who had already claimed that right.
In 1967 Khun Sa and his Shan militia was enlisted part of the Air America program to transport Opium to Major-General Ouane Rattikone of the Royal Lao Army, which was a local Laos French Colonial established army, which the CIA supported in the Vietnam war to stop the North Vietnamese Ho Chi Minh trail.
The KMT Third and Fifth units attacked Khun Sa's militia as they tried to move their opium over the border in Laos.
This resulted in Khun Sa and his militia fleeing and a clash between the Royal Laos army and the KMMT who they saw were stopping their drugs coming in.
The Laos Army bombed the area using US AT 28 planes in which was to become an embarrassing incident for the Royal Laos Army and Major-General Ouane Rattikone.
In the end both the KMT and Khun Sa's militia disbanded back to their regionally controlled areas.
In essence this was the CIA Air America drug operation enlisting Khun Sa to get drugs to the Royal Laos Army to fund their operations against the North Vietnamese that went wrong.
Reference link: 1967 opium border conflict. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1967_Opium_War
What was left in the Shan region was entrenched Karen Anti government rebels and later in 1974 a Shan United Army set up by Khun Sa to fight against the Burmese government.
We still see now the United States interfering in Burma under the guise of Democracy to destabilise the government there and try to influence Singapore through the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) which was established to have peace and stability in the region to take punitive action on the Burmese/Myanmar government.
The United States created the situation they want sanction and actions will only go to increase US interference in South East Asia undermining ASEAN.
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