‘India Must Tread Carefully In Myanmar, Stakes Are Very High’

NEW DELHI: Myanmar presents tough choices for India: the generals who seized power from the democratically elected government some months ago are well disposed towards Delhi. But the manner in which they have gone about imposing their authority on their citizens, including killing them, should give pause to their strongest supporters.

In this conversation, Rajiv Bhatia former ambassador to Myanmar, talks about India’s options at a time when our strategic stakes in that country have never been higher. China presents huge challenges to our influence in Myanmar, and therefore the need to stay on the right side of the generals. But there is the undeniable fact that horrendous abuses are being committed by the military and India cannot remain indifferent to it.

What should India do? Amb. Bhatia acknowledges the complexity of the challenges ahead and attempts to find answers.