Myanmar military’s coup and what it means for India

Experts are of the opinion that regardless of the reasons for the military’s coup in Myanmar, the step is considered to be a setback for the international community especially for India, as, over the years, it has built ties and has made efforts to strike a balance with Myanmar, both strategically and bilaterally, reports ETV Bharat's Senior Correspondent Chandrakala Choudhury.

New Delhi: The powerful military’s coup in Myanmar stunned the whole world. With the detention of Aung San Suu Kyi, the de facto leader of Myanmar’s elected government and one of the strongest leaders fighting for Democracy, it remains to be seen how the failed experiment with Democracy in Myanmar would be restored.

However, regardless of the reasons for the coup, the step is considered to be a setback for the international community especially for India, as, over the years, it has built ties and has made efforts to strike a balance with Myanmar, both strategically and bilaterally.

ETV Bharat spoke to few experts on the matter

An expert says that the India-Myanmar relationship has been very cordial in the past few years.

Although India developed good relations with the military leadership earlier, the role of China will be something to watch out.

Speaking to ETV Bharat, Joyeeta Bhattacharjee, a senior fellow with ORF's Neighbourhood Regional Studies Initiative, said,” India for a long time had supported the democracy movement in Myanmar but we have seen that there has been a shift. India tried to patch up with the military leadership and this has played a major dividend. India is maintaining a very good relationship with both- the Myanmar army as well as the political regime in the Asian country."

“When it comes to India’s relationship with Myanmar, it is mostly government to government relationship. So India would try to deal with any government, whichever will be in power in Myanmar and take care of India’s core interest. India’s interests are very clear. Myanmar is strategically important for India because it shares a border with the Northeast region," she added.

In terms of peace and security in the Northeast, Myanmar plays an important role. Secondly, India’s Act East Policy is an issue that we need to look into and Myanmar is an important partner in it. Till the time whichever government is in power in Myanmar and taking care of India’s interest, I don’t see much of a problem, Bhattacharjee points out.

Democracy is a matter of concern but India’s response will greatly be guided by our interest and the wishes of the people of Myanmar. At the end of the day it is the people that matter, she reiterated.

Former Ambassador and Special Envoy SD Muni further said that the reason behind the military seizing control in Myanmar is because the military’s party lost during last year’s general election.

“They knew that if the civilians won then they were in a position even to bring about constitutional changes. The military feared that their position would be reduced”, the diplomat stated.

On being asked about India’s role in the restoration of democracy in Myanmar, Muni explained, “I don’t think India can play a major role except in company with ASEAN countries or the US and Japan," he said.

He further said, "There is a possibility that the Myanmar army has sought the approval directly or indirectly of the Chinese. The Chinese have been mostly supporting the army even on Rohingya issue and the army doesn’t want the western or Indian influence to grow in Myanmar. They probably feared that Aung San Suu Kyi will lean more towards the West, if not India. Therefore, this is a speculation that Chinese has gone on the side of the Myanmar army. I don’t think India can bring about any decisive influence, except in company with others”.

Commenting on India-Myanmar relationships in the face of the military coup, Muni said, “There was a lot of influence of Chinese growing in Myanmar but under Aung San Suu Kyi, India was trying to improve and have ample of projects that have undertaken between the two countries. Many such projects with Myanmar are pending which both the countries should complete”.

“Even in terms of insurgency and border issues, there was a reasonably good relation between India and Myanmar. Though on the Rohingya issue, India was in a difficult situation. At the first, India supported Myanmar’s position but then there was pressure from Bangladesh. Now Myanmar and Bangladesh have resolved the issue, but after the military rule in Myanmar, the military power would be harsh on the Rohingyas. India-Myanmar was having reasonably a good relationship which would now depend upon how the Chinese influence grows and whether the military is willing to cooperate with us," he added.

The military said on Monday it carried out the detentions in response to fraud in last November’s general election, which Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) won by a landslide.

Expressing deep concern over the coup in Myanmar, India said that the rule of law and the democratic process must be upheld.

In a statement released by the Ministry of External Affairs, it said, “We have noted the developments in Myanmar with deep concern. India has always been steadfast in its support to the process of democratic transition in Myanmar. We believe that the rule of law and the democratic process must be upheld”.