Embarrassing Army

After Nationalist China collapsed in 1949, a remnant of the Nationalists' Eighth and Twenty-Sixth Armies, commanded by General Li Mi, fell back across the border into Burma. In the wild mountains of Burma's Shan States, Li Mi put a defense perimeter around his ragged forces and then went down to Bangkok to seek arms and supplies from wealthy Chinese merchants. Soon big, green, unmarked C-46s were flying into an airfield which Li Mi's men had built at Monghsat. Li Mi began commuting to Formosa, where he was well received.

By the summer of 1951, Li Mi was ready to attack Red China. In a quick thrust, his men drove 50 miles into Yunnan. The Communists counterattacked and drove Li's men pell-mell back into Burma, but did not follow up their victory. Li Mi licked his wounds, lived off the land, extended his control over east Burma (see map). The weak Burmese government--which had won its independence only five years before from the British--was too busy fighting Karen rebels and two different camps of local Communists to deal with Li Mi's men. Growing stronger, Li Mi extended his activities west of the Salween River.

Protest. A fortnight ago, Burma formally asked the U.N. to condemn the Nationalist government on Formosa for an act of aggression, and accused its armies of preying on the countryside and instituting a "veritable reign of terror--looting, pillaging, raping and murdering." The Burmese said that the original Li Mi force of 1,700 men had been built up into an army of 12,000 by local recruiting, and was now commanded by Chinese Nationalist General Liu Kuo-chuan. The whereabouts of General Li Mi was now something of a mystery: the Nationalists say he is in Formosa recovering from a stroke; the Burmese say he was almost captured there a week ago.

In the U.N., China's Dr. Tingfu F. Tsiang replied: "This army of 12,000 . . . is not part of the army of the Republic of China. It calls itself the Yunnan AntiCommunist and National Salvation Army. It is not subject to control by my government." But, said Dr. Tsiang, his government, at the suggestion of the U.S., would 1) attempt to stop the collection of money from the people of Formosa for the Yunnan army; 2) refuse the clearance of airplanes chartered for the delivery of supplies to the border region. Added Tsiang: "Insofar as we can be said to have some influence over General Li Mi, we have used that influence in favor of the wishes of the government of Burma."

Attack. Burma was not yet satisfied. In a sharp attack near Monghsat, Burmese troops found the bodies of white men, whom Burmese newspapers hastily named as Americans, but Washington said no U.S. passports had ever been issued in their names, suggested that the men may have been German deserters from the French Foreign Legion in neighboring Indo-China. The U.S. denied again, as it has before, any responsibility for Li Mi's operations. But the National Salvation Army was beginning to be embarrassing to all concerned. Burma, in a curtly polite note, thanked the U.S. for its $31 million aid program and declined to accept further aid. There was talk of a Russian aid program to Burma. In the U.N., the Arab-Asian bloc (with the single exception of the Philippines) agreed to support Burma's case.

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