January 15, 2015: In late November a Burmese shipyard launched the third Anawratha class corvette. This one was built in Burma with Chinese assistance. The first two entered service in 2001 and 2003. The third one took longer because of a shortage of cash, These are 77 meter (325 feet) long, 1,100 ton ships armed with four Chinese C-802 anti-ship missiles, one 76mm cannon and two close in defense autocannon systems. There is a helicopter pad but no hanger.

The major ships of the Burmese Navy are five frigates, three corvettes and 20 smaller missile firing boats. In March 2014 the navy commissioned the first locally built frigate. Based on the Chinese Type 053 frigate, the new ship is a 1,400 ton vessel equipped with cannon, anti-ship missiles and torpedoes. The other four frigates are from China.

Burma has never had much of a navy and it is only with lots of Chinese assistance that this is changing. China is buying Burmese support for Chinese claims on a lot of territory, especially the South China Sea, and Burma has been more pro-Chinese on these issues.