Subduction in the Indo-Burma region: Is it still active?

The Indo-Burma region (which includes longitude 92 degrees-96 degrees E, latitude 20 degrees-26 degrees N) is a subduction zone where the Indian plate underthrusts the South-Eastern Asian plate. But the nature of subduction is complex. I examine here the distribution of the P, T and B axes of 37 earthquakes (the time period 1977-1995, depths 0-153 km and magnitudes m(b) 4.8-6.8) with respect to the geometry of the Wadati-Benioff Zone. The analysis shows that the T axes are clustered close to the down-dip direction of the subducting slab implying a predominant down-dip tensional stress regime within the slab, which is typical of intermediate depth seismicity of active subduction zones. These results suggest that the subduction in the Indo-Burma region is possibly active.