Indian Foreign Secretary Visits Burma

The visit comes one week since UN Special Envoy for Burma Ibrahim Gambari visited India, during which time he discussed the Burmese issue with government officials.

Menon is thought to be tasked with convincing the Burmese junta to accept another round of talks with the UN envoy who last week said he hoped that “India would do more than what it has been doing so far.”

Gambari also called on the Indian government to “work on Myanmar [Burma] to make the diplomatic process more inclusive and dialogue with the opposition parties more dialogue-oriented.”

Gambari added that he was impressed with India’s “growing influence” on Burma and suggested that India use its influence to become “a trustworthy and effective instrument” in engaging with the Burmese regime.

According to a source close to the Indian foreign ministry, Menon will meet Burmese Foreign Minister Nyan Win in Rangoon and his visit will mainly focus on bilateral issues, such as the Kaladan transport project which is due to be verified when Burma’s military general Maung Aye visits New Delhi in April.

Another area of interest is the port of Sittwe in western Burma, which is being developed by India at a cost of US $120 million.

However, M. Kim, a spokesperson for the Burmese pro-democracy movement based in India, said that India would barely mention the subject of the Burmese regime’s acceleration of political reforms and national reconciliation.  

He charged that economic and military ties between Burma and India have been strong in recent years, noting that even during September’s brutal crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrations, India’s state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation signed a production-sharing contract with the Burmese regime.

Dr Tint Swe, an elected Member of Parliament and senior minister in the exiled government, the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (NCGUB), said: “I have my doubts about India’s sincerity in its support for democracy in Burma. If India seriously pushed, the Burmese regime would not dare delaying the calls for change.”

Under its policy of “quiet diplomacy,” India put a temporary hold on arms sales to the Burmese junta after the September crackdown for about two months without an official announcement. However, much of the information regarding arms sales is unconfirmed. 

“It is difficult to find out about India’s arms dealings with Burma,” said Tint Swe. “But we recently received news from the India-Burma border about trucks carrying arms from India through Burmese border areas.”

Until September 2007, Indian and Burmese military forces conducted joint operations and the two governments discussed a deal to supply Burma with helicopters.

In 2007, Amnesty International reported that the helicopters were “highly likely to contain components, technology and munitions” from European Union nations and the United States, countries which already have arms embargoes on Burma.

Burma was also invited to participate in the Defexpo Arms Fair organized by the Indian Ministry of Defense from February 16 to 19, 2008, in Pragati Maidan, New Delhi.

Tint Swe said that China and India are the most important countries that can push Burma toward democracy, but that the two countries are constantly competing to secure energy resources in Burma.

“What they can do is stop competing with each other and put pressure on Burma,” he said. “They will only gain economically after there is democracy in Burma.”