WARNING SHOT

The foreign secretary’s Myanmar visit is a clear signal that India will not allow China to use the northeast border to its advantage

- MANDIRA NAYAR

It is a small step, but a strong signal that India is still in the game in Myanmar. On December 22, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla made a two-day visit to Naypyidaw and Yangon. This is India’s first high-level engagement with Myanmar after the coup in February 2021. On-board Shringla’s aircraft were a million doses of Covid-19 vaccines, a Christmas gift for Myanmar and a message that China is not the only friend it has. During the visit, India also announced a grant of 10,000 tonnes of rice and wheat.

The visit was carefully structured—the humanitarian angle was played up, but it also indicated a reach out to the junta. The Myanmar military handed over five insurgents to India recently. This is the second time it has helped India with insurgents in the northeast in the past two years. Shringla’s visit was aimed at acknowledging the military’s help and keeping it on India’s side. “The visit was focused primarily on security incidents in the northeast, Myanmar’s military operations in Chin State and western Myanmar and the resulting refugee spillover into India and a calibrated engagement with the Tatmadaw (the official name of the Myanmar armed forces), which is the power behind the ruling State Administrative Council (SAC),’’ said former ambassador to Myanmar Gautam Mukhopadhaya. “It was also an opportunity for broad-based consultations on and support for the restoration of democracy, the need for a humanitarian response in general and especially on Covid and the preservation of longer-term development and strategic interests.”