India’s Concerns over Myanmar Drive Policy, Analysts Say
Voice of America
NEW DELHI - Analysts say India’s concern that isolating Myanmar’s military, which staged the country’s February 1 coup, will drive it closer to China, and fears of instability in a country with a long common border are driving a desire by New Delhi to engage the regime to resolve the crisis there.
The United States and other Western democracies are imposing economic sanctions to put pressure on Myanmar’s military, which has mounted a brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protests, resulting in hundreds of deaths since it ousted de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Critics have questioned why India, the world’s largest democracy, has not denounced the junta more strongly, but analysts say New Delhi believes sanctions may not be the way to defuse the crisis. “From India’s perspective, keeping a channel of communication open with Myanmar’s military is very important,” said Harsh Pant, head of the Strategic Studies Program at the Observer Research Foundation in New Delhi.FILE - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un walks with Chinese President Xi Jinping during Xi's visit in Pyongyang, North Korea, in this picture released by by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), June 21, 2019. A news program broadcasts file images of a rocket launch by North Korea, at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, May 28, 2024. A rocket launched by North Korea to deploy the country's second spy satellite exploded shortly after liftoff on May 27, state media reported.
A man walks past election posters of the ruling African National Congress (ANC), as South Africa prepares for the May 29 general elections, in Soweto, May 24, 2024. African National Congress (ANC) supporters sing songs during the political party's final rally ahead of the upcoming election at FNB stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa. May 25, 2024.