Delhi's Role in the Myanmar Crisis

To a certain extent, India and Myanmar share the same history. Both states belonged to the British Empire and became independent in 1947 and 1948 respectively. However, the states are not only linked historically but also culturally. Buddhism spread east from India. Today, Myanmar is predominantly Buddhist. Until the 1990s, India supported the democratic movement in its neighbouring country -- at least morally.

But a change occurred -- mainly because of security and energy reasons, explains Christian Wagner from the German Institute for International and Security Affairs in Berlin.

"For reasons of energy, Myanmar has become increasingly important to India in the past ten years. India's competition with China is of utmost importance here. Since the Nineties, the Chinese government has been shaping its relationship with Myanmar solely with a focus on securing the gas reserves. India has been trying to follow a similar strategy but without as much success as the Chinese. A second point is co-operation in the security field. In north-east India, there have been a series of uprisings which have their basis in Myanmar."

"Look East"

In 1992, India's prime minister Narsimha Rao devised a "Look East" policy just after India opened its economy. This step propelled India, which now has an average growth rate of 8 percent, into one of the fastest growing economies of the world.

The aim of the "Look East" policy is, above all, to improve relations with ASEAN states. Myanmar is India's second-biggest neighbour and its biggest neighbour to the east. India not only has a land border with Myanmar but also a sea border.

So, the notion that Myanmar might allow other states to increase their army presence in the east part of the Bay of Bengal posed a major threat for India. India considered Myanmar a kind of bridge to Laos and Thailand. And, therefore, India started to court Myanmar. Their relationship reached its pinnacle in 2003 when there were seven state visits by ministers and India's Vice-President also went to Myanmar.

Meanwhile, trade between the two countries has surpassed the billion dollar mark. India is helping Myanmar build its infrastructure and providing know-how in the IT and communications sector. The two countries have also made several arms deals -- for which they have received criticism from the West.

Quandary

Now, therefore, India is in a bit of a quandary. Mohan Prakesh from India's ruling Congress Party avoided making any comment on India's potential influence on Myanmar:

"A government has to maintain certain relations with another government. But when it comes to the Congress Party, it has to be said that the basis of our party is non-violence. That's why we support voices for democracy all over the world wherever they are, especially if they are non-violent -- we support them morally and spiritually. Myanmar is our neighbour and fifty years ago we were one. Since we're free and we're a democracy, it's naturally our wish that our neighbouring country should also have a strong democracy."

However, as Christian Wagner says, time and time again, India has pursued a pragmatic foreign policy course in order to protect its interests. Whether in Africa or in Southeast Asia, India has not been afraid to develop close ties with undemocratic regimes and is not interested in improving human rights or introducing democracy. Both sides benefit from such an attitude, explains Wagner:

Pursuit of interests

"At the moment I don't think the Indian government is going to react to international pressure. The petroleum and natural gas minister was just in Myanmar for talks on questions of energy and about future energy deliveries. I think that as long as there are no great streams of refugees to India from Myanmar, India will try to overcome this crisis peacefully. If it comes to sanctions against the Southeast Asian country, I'm not sure how much India will participate. However, if there's a Security Council resolution, India will follow. But India will continue to pursue its interests during the crisis."

The position of the opposition won't be strengthened by the fact that Myanmar is neighboured by two Asian giants -- China and India -- which seem very reluctant to exercise pressure on the regime.