BurmaNet News, January 11, 2006

[Editor]

January 11, 2006 Issue # 2877


INSIDE BURMA
DVB: Another political prisoner died in prison
Irrawaddy: Political prisoners reportedly beaten at Insein Prison
Irrawaddy: National Convention discusses role of army as rallies sweep Burma

BUSINESS / TRADE
AP: Foreign investment in Myanmar dropped 12 percent in 2005
Asia Pulse: Myanmar declines to supply gas to India, prefers China

REGIONAL
Irrawaddy: Demonstrations mark “Kachin State Day”
AFP: Myanmar men tried to swim to Singapore: police

INTERNATIONAL
AFP: China needed to push Myanmar reforms: Soros
Narinjara: Burmese Muslims in Saudi Arabia denied renewal of their
Bangladeshi passports

OPINION / OTHER
Nation: Burma’s tragedy going global
Pioneer (India): Myanmar and India's national interest

____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

January 11, Democratic Voice of Burma
Another political prisoner died in prison

Khin Maung Lwin, a political prisoner in Putao, died this morning.

Khin Maung Lwin, alias Nay Min Aung was sentenced for 10 years
imprisonment for writing to the senior monks of the Sangha Maha Nayaka
(Top Buddhist Abbots) Council to help because the people of Burma were
facing hardships.

According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma)
based in Thailand, he is the 87th person to died in prison while serving
imprisonment term.

____________________________________

January 11, Irrawaddy
Political prisoners reportedly beaten at Insein Prison - Aung Lwin Oo

At least three political prisoners were severely beaten by other inmates
in the presence of prison officials in Rangoon’s notorious Insein prison,
a Thailand-based rights group announced today.

The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma) said in a
statement Wednesday that three political prisoners—Aung San Myat, Thiha
Tun and Han Win Aung—were beaten by other criminal inmates in Insein
prison on January 2.

“Though the reason for the attack is not known yet, the incident took
place in the presence of prison officials, including the prison chief Win
Maung,” said Tate Naing, secretary of AAPP. He also added that prison
officials have taken no action against the attackers, while the three
beaten men were denied proper medical treatment for their severe injuries.

In late 2005, AAPP published a report detailing accounts of brutal and
systematic torture of political prisoners in Burma. Tate Naing said that
conditions in Burma’s prisons are deteriorating as international NGOs,
including the International Committee of the Red Cross, have limited
access to prisoners.

The office of the ICRC in Rangoon, the only international NGO concerned
with the condition of political prisoners in Burma, was closed today for a
national holiday, and therefore unable to comment on the beatings.

The 88-Generation Students Group, a democratic opposition group comprising
many former political prisoners, called on the military government late
last year to improve conditions for the country’s political prisoners.

“We haven’t seen any significant development so far,” Ko Ko Gyi, a
prominent student leader and member of the group, told The Irrawaddy by
telephone today.

Meanwhile, Su Su Nway, a prominent rights defender and political prisoner,
has suffered acute health problems since her arrest and was admitted to
Insein prison’s hospital in early January.

According to AAPP estimates, there are currently more than 1,000 political
prisoners in prisons throughout Burma.

____________________________________

January 11, Irrawaddy
National Convention discusses role of army as rallies sweep Burma - Clive
Parker and Khun Sam

Delegates at the National Convention began discussing the thorny issue of
the Burmese army’s role in the future government yesterday, as
junta-backed groups continued to hold mass rallies in support of the
process.

Yesterday’s session of the constitution-drafting body was dominated by a
long speech by National Convention Convening Work Committee Vice Chairman
Aye Maung, who outlined key principles on which the Tatmadaw’s [armed
forces] future role will be founded, according to the state-run newspaper
The New Light of Myanmar.

Aye Maung’s first suggestion was to add the words “brilliant and
patriotic” to the first principle of the section of the constitution, so
it now reads: “The Tatmadaw is strong, modern and must be the sole
existing brilliant and patriotic Tatmadaw.”

Other issues proposed for discussion are likely to be harder for ethnic
groups to accept. Aye Maung asked delegates to formalize the condition
that all armed forces fall under the jurisdiction of the Burmese army.

No representatives at the convention were available for comment on the
issue today, given that they are unable to communicate with the outside
world from their compound 25 miles outside of downtown Rangoon. However,
an official of the Kachin Independence Organization—which has five
representatives at the National Convention—suggested his group would be
unlikely to accept control from the capital.

“We will never give up our arms,” he said, restating one of the ideals on
which the KIO was founded.

The Kayin New Land Party—another ceasefire group represented at the
talks—was today unavailable for comment.

The question of how the Tatmadaw and armed ethnic groups will negotiate an
agreement on how the military in Burma will be configured is still not yet
clear.

Aye Maung repeatedly referred to the concept of one military in Burma, one
that would be practically independence of other state departments, with
license to respond to ill-defined crises of the state without the need to
gain permission from central or regional authorities. However, ethnic
representatives are understood to be waiting for the government to respond
to a request that no Tatmadaw troops be allowed on their territory in a
future state, a concession the junta would be unlikely to approve given
previous statements it has made.

Aye Maung asked representatives to consider the principle that the head of
the armed forces also sit as the vice president of the union, one of 14
points defining the future role of the army that—if approved—would
apportion a substantial role for servicemen, including civil servants in
the Ministry of Home Affairs and Border Affairs.

The government’s proposals also state that the head of the armed forces
appoint parliament representatives, presumably to make up at least 25
percent of the future parliamentary body—a condition the Tatmadaw has
insisted on since constitution talks first began more than a decade ago.

Meanwhile, the junta-backed Union Solidarity and Development Association
was again working yesterday to galvanize a public show of support for the
National Convention, organizing the latest in a series of mass rallies in
Pegu Division.

The New Light of Myanmar claimed there were 16,000 locals present. Similar
events have been held every day since the end of last week, as the junta
enters a crucial phase in which it is hoping its proposals will be
rubber-stamped by National Convention delegates.

Local USDA members organized a similar event in Loikaw, capital of Karenni
State on Monday, in Myitkyina, capital of Kachin State on Sunday and at
the Thuwanna national football stadium in Rangoon on Saturday.

“It is essential for the Tatmadaw to play the political leadership role in
the country because of the lack of experience of people who would lead the
transitional period,” was one slogan given in Loikaw two days ago,
according to the state press.

A participant at the rally in Myitkyina—an event the state press also
claimed was attended by more than 16,000 people—said that the authorities
had again resorted to forcibly recruiting locals. Unwilling to allow her
name or that of her organization to be used for fear of retribution by the
authorities, she said she had been forced to attend the event after her
superiors had received instructions from the local authorities saying that
they must send eight representatives.

“We just went to participate as our leaders told us,” she said, adding
that she would not have gone of her own free will.

“We have no choice, we had to say ‘doh ah ye’ (our cause—a response to
slogans called out by organizers) at their request. But I think they were
not saying it in their minds.”

At the rally in Rangoon on Saturday—reportedly attended by 2,000
people—The New Light of Myanmar noted that representatives of the Red
Cross Society were present.

Burma Red Cross President Dr Hla Myint was unable to say whether the 200
Red Cross volunteers attending were forcibly recruited or not. If so—as
has been widely reported in the past at such events—the authorities would
be causing the organization to violate its own strict rules of
independence, which state: “The Red Cross and Red Crescent must resist any
interference, whether political [or] ideological.”

Others present at the Rangoon rally included representatives of a number
of both state and private organizations, including the Myanmar Fire
Brigade and the Myanmar Industrialists Association.

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

January 11, The Associated Press
Foreign investment in Myanmar dropped 12 percent in 2005

Yangon: Foreign investment in Myanmar dropped 11.6 percent in 2005 to
US$113 million (€94 million), with the bulk of funds directed at the
Southeast Asian nation's oil and gas markets and manufacturing, a journal
reported.

Foreign investment in 2004 was US$128 million (€106 million), the Weekly
Eleven journal reported in its current edition, citing an official source.

The journal did not break down the foreign investment by country or
provide reasons for the decline, but analysts attribute the drop to
Myanmar's inconsistent trade policies and the political climate in the
military-ruled country.

The United States and European Union have imposed economic sanctions on
Myanmar in recent years to pressure the military government to improve
human rights and release detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Since Myanmar opened its markets to foreign investment in 1988, the
Southeast Asian country has drawn $7.76 billion (€6.43 billion) with more
than half coming from neighboring countries in ASEAN, or the Association
of Southeast Asian Nations.

ASEAN, which accounted for $3.96 billion (€3.28 billion) of foreign
investment to Myanmar over the last 17 years, also includes Brunei,
Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand
and Vietnam.

Singapore's contribution was the highest, with $1.57 billion in foreign
investment, followed by $1.34 billion (€1.11 billion) from Thailand, the
journal reported.

____________________________________

January 11, Asia Pulse
Myanmar declines to supply gas to India, prefers China

New Delhi: In a major blow to India's effort to secure its energy needs
through transnational pipelines, Myanmar has refused to supply natural gas
to New Delhi and instead preferred doing business with China.

After beating Indian firms in overseas oil field acquisitions on three
occasions in the last five months, Hong Kong-listed PetroChina has inked
an agreement to purchase gas from A1 Block Block in Bay of Bengal.

"Ajay Tyagi, Joint Secretary (Gas), Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas
had to cut short his trip and return back after Myanmarese authorities
said they had tied-up gas sales with China," an industry official said.
India has been pursuing gas imports from Iran, Myanmar and Turkmenistan
via transnational gas pipelines to meet the growing energy needs as
domestic production barely meets half of its requirement.

Sources said Tyagi, who returned from Yangon on Tuesday, was informed that
Myanmar Energy Ministry signed an MoU with PetroChina on December 7 for
sale of 6.5 trillion cubic feet of gas from Block A-1 reserve over 30
years.

No one from Petroleum Ministry was immediately available for comments.

A-1 block has South Korea's Daewoo as the operator and India's ONGC Videsh
Ltd (20 per cent) and GAIL (10 per cent) as its partners.

India had proposed to build a US$1 billion 290-km trunk line from west
coast of Myanmar to West Bengal via Bangladesh for importing gas from the
A-1 block and possible reserves in the adjacent A-3 block. OVL and GAIL
hold 30 per cent stake in A-3 block as well.

____________________________________
REGIONAL

January 11, Irrawaddy
Demonstrations mark “Kachin State Day” - Khun Sam

Kachin communities in Burma and abroad ended a week of “Kachin State Day”
celebrations today. About 100,000 Kachin people celebrated in Myitkyina,
capital of Burma’s Kachin State, while demonstrations were held outside
the Burmese embassy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and in Chiang Mai, northern
Thailand.

The demonstrators accused the Burmese regime of breaking the 12-year-old
ceasefire agreement with the Kachin Independence Organization and of
killing KIO soldiers.

One of the Kuala Lumpur demonstrators, Jam Seng, told The Irrawaddy by
phone that he and about 40 other Kachins had protested against the killing
of five KIO soldiers by government forces in northern Kachin State on
January 2. In Chiang Mai, a one-minute silence was held in memory of the
dead KIO soldiers.

“Kachin State Day” has been celebrated annually since Burma’s independence
in 1948.

Ah Gu Dee Zi, secretary of the celebration’s organizing committee, told
The Irrawaddy that the purpose of the “Kachin State Day” was to make every
member of the Kachin community “more pro-active” and aware of their
“national status.”

Cultural groups from China participated in the Myitkyina celebrations,
which included sporting events, a beauty contest, art exhibitions and the
traditional Manau dance.

____________________________________

January 11, Agence France Presse
Myanmar men tried to swim to Singapore: police

Singapore: Two illegal immigrants who tried to swim into Singapore have
been arrested, police said Wednesday.

The 21-year-old men are believed to be Myanmar nationals, a police
statement said.

They were caught at 3:15 am Tuesday after Police Coast Guard surveillance
equipment spotted them heading towards the north coast of the city-state,
police said.

"The men, who were without any valid travel document, were fished out from
the sea and placed under arrest," the statement said.

Only about one kilometre (0.62 miles) of water separates Malaysia from
northern Singapore, Southeast Asia's wealthiest country where hundreds of
thousands of foreign nationals work.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

January 11, Agence France Presse
China needed to push Myanmar reforms: Soros

Singapore: China's involvement is needed to push for political reforms in
Myanmar, US billionaire financier George Soros said Wednesday.

Speaking at a forum organised by the Singapore-based Institute of
Southeast Asian Studies, Soros said neither the policy of isolation
advocated by the West nor "constructive engagement" championed by
Myanmar's Southeast Asian neighbours has succeeded.

"Nothing works and yet something needs to be done," he told hundreds of
students, academics and some diplomats.

"Clearly if the international community could get its act together -- if
China, let's say, felt a strong need that something needs to be done -- as
the West (has), then perhaps the international commmunity could be more
successful in bringing about a change."

He said that as long as there is dissension then "the result is clear for
all of us to see".

Some analysts are of the view that the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN) does not want to push military-ruled Myanmar too hard on
reforms because it might force the country to gravitate towards China,
with which it shares a land border.

Soros is founder and chairman of the Open Society Institute, a network of
philanthropic organizations active in more than 50 countries.

In 1994, the institute established the so-called "Burma Project" for the
purpose of increasing international awareness of conditions in Myanmar and
helping it make the transition to democracy. Burma is Myanmar's former
name.

The Burma Project first expanded into the rest of Southeast Asia in the
late 1990s, according to the institute.

Concerns over the pace of reforms in the country were heightened when
former Malaysian diplomat Razali Ismail announced Sunday his resignation
as the United Nations special envoy to Myanmar after being denied entry
there for nearly two years.

On Tuesday, Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar warned that
Myanmar was facing severe international pressure over its lack of
democratic progress.

Syed Hamid was expected to visit Myanmar on behalf of ASEAN this month to
check on democracy reforms, but the military junta put off the visit.

____________________________________

January 11, Narinjara News
Burmese Muslims in Saudi Arabia denied renewal of their Bangladeshi
passports -Iftekhar Ahmed

Every year more than 50,000 Bangladeshi Muslim pilgrims visit Saudi Arabia
to perform Hazz. The Burmese military government also allows a very small
number of Muslims from Burma to perform Hazz each year, while many Muslim
pilgrims from Arakan state go to Saudi Arabia using a Bangladeshi
passport.

While some pilgrims return home to Burma after performing Hazz, many
continue to live in Saudi Arabia either with their relatives or to work,
as the income is higher.

According to NTV News, a Bangladeshi television channel, there are over
200,000 Burmese Muslims in Saudi Arabia holding a Bangladeshi passport.

But now Burmese Muslims living in Saudi Arabia with Bangladeshi passports
are facing difficulties, with the Bangladesh Consulate Office in Saudi
Arabia refusing to renew passports due to scepticism over their real
nationality.

The Bangladesh Consulate Office on 7 January 2006 announced in an
interview with NTV that they do not plan to renew or reissue passports
without proper proof of their nationality.

A Burmese Muslim from Cox's Bazaar said he was worried about the future of
his family, because if their passports are not renewed and they are
deported by Saudi authorities, they will have nowhere to go and no country
willing to take them in.

The Saudi government is yet to make public any initiatives in relation to
Burmese Muslims holding Bangladeshi passports.

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

January 11, The Nation
Burma’s tragedy going global

The UN is about to appoint a new envoy and may be ready belatedly to stand
up to the ill-governed country. Even though Razali Ismail served as an
outstanding diplomat for Malaysia, he found it very difficult to foster
cooperation and dialogue between the Burmese government and opposition.

Unfortunately, his performance as the UN secretary-general’s special envoy
to that nation was rather mixed, so it was good that on Monday, he called
it quits after waiting 22 months to get permission for another visit
there. When he was appointed special envoy in April 2000, hopes ran high
that he could end Burma’s long-running diplomatic impasse with an expanded
UN role. After all, he hailed from Malaysia, a strong supporter of Burma’s
entry into Asean in 1997. Never mind the recent change of heart within the
top echelon of the United Malays National Organisation, which now speaks
out against Burma.

On his first few visits, he made quite an impression, because he was able
to speak to representatives of both the junta and the opposition,
including Aung San Suu Kyi. He acted cautiously, knowing full well the
sensitivities involved. While he was UN envoy, Asean genuinely hoped he
could help find a solution to the crisis. Indeed, Burma had expressed a
desire to cope with growing international pressure and assuage the fears
of the regional grouping, which had encouraged the beleaguered nation’s
membership. But during its first five years as a member, Burma was able to
exploit Asean’s goodwill and reputation to the hilt, and UN efforts in
that country were lightweight compared with the overall combined Asean
effort to defend one of its own. But the tide turned last November.

A new envoy, backed by increased UN pressure, is needed to revive the
dialogue process and end the deadlock. The junta leaders have already lost
all credibility with their Asean colleagues. They have made many promises
to Asean leaders, which they have failed to keep. Asean leaders were
disappointed – to say the least – that the junta failed to inform them of
moving the capital from Rangoon to Pyinmana. They accused Burma of acting
more like a stranger rather than a family member, a sharply worded message
that was unusually strong and unequivocal compared the milder language of
the past.

Indonesia recently criticised Burma for postponing the visit of a
Malaysian-led delegation to evaluate the current situation. More delays by
Rangoon would further jeopardise Burma’s membership in Asean and knock it
even more out of sync with the group’s overall positions. Western
countries are already encouraged by this trend, as evidence by
Washington’s current lobbying to get the Burmese crisis onto the UN
Security Council’s official agenda.

For almost 16 years, since the 1990 elections, the Security Council has
ignored the Burmese crisis, refusing to address the issue in any way
whatsoever. But an informal briefing finally took place about the middle
of last month, indicating a growing determination to take the issue more
seriously. The shift began a few months ago with the presentation of a
report commissioned by former Czech president Vaclav Havel and South
African Archbishop Desmond Tutu. The disturbing findings on various
human-rights abuses in Burma helped change the hardened positions of
certain UN members.

In that atmosphere, Razali’s limited role and influence of the last three
years began to wane. His business interests in Burma have been subjected
to a media frenzy. Not surprisingly, pundits claim that Razali’s
effectiveness was compromised by conflicts of interest and that his
credibility was diluted. Burmese intelligence also worked to make it
harder for Razali to operate.

It is highly likely that the new envoy to be appointed by UN
Secretary-General Kofi Annan will be from outside Southeast Asia. The
situation in Burma has gone beyond this region’s ability to control it,
and indeed it now threatens to have even wider implications for
international peace and security.


>From now on, the UN, especially the Security Council, must increase its

pressure, making sure that Burma knows it must move towards democracy,
starting with Aung San Suu Kyi’s unconditional release.

____________________________________

January 10, The Pioneer (India)
Myanmar and India's national interest

Besides restraining China, India must prevent the US from fomenting
trouble in its strategic neighbourhood in the east, says P Stobdan

There are embryonic signs of the US turning the heat on Myanmar next. A
"one-off briefing" on Myanmar, given informally by Deputy Secretary
General Ibrahim Gambari on December 17, 2005, marked the first time the UN
Security Council discussed the country on an official level.

The US insistence for a UNSC briefing followed Tatmadow's extension of Ms
Aung San Suu Kyi's house arrest and an earlier UN Committee resolution
condemning Myanmar's human rights abuse. The US is upbeat about the
briefing and expects to push the issue of political change in Myanmar
further.

Interestingly, in the recent months, Washington has raised Myanmar's
growing threat to international peace and security, citing problems caused
by illicit narcotics, human rights abuses, internal repression -
destroying villages, targeting minorities and forcing people to flee the
country. The US also mentions the junta seeking nuclear capabilities. In
the recent APEC meeting in Busan, President George Bush pledged to help
restore democracy in Myanmar, while Ms Condoleezza Rice viewed the junta
as "one of the worst regimes in the world." In July, President Bush signed
the Burma Freedom and Democracy Act that banned imports from Myanmar.

What came on the heels of recent US assertion was the 124-page report by
the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), revealing the
junta's "brutal and systematic" abuse of political prisoners (1,100
prisoners still under detention).

President Bush's meeting with a Shan human rights campaigner, Charm Tong,
indicated the gravity. The junta's move to new capital Pyinmana, triggered
by its fear of a possible US attack, displaced thousands. The ILO was
irked by the report of extensive forced labour used for construction of
Army camps. Myanmar has threatened to opt out of the ILO's membership.

The campaign to get Myanmar on the UNSC has been underway for some time.
The reports of Nobel laureates Vaclav Havel and Desmond Tutu, "Threat to
the peace: A call for the UN Security Council to Act in Burma", influenced
the world body. The victory of blocking Myanmar from ASEAN chairmanship
for 2006 seems to have encouraged the West to push for change.

The UN remains critical of Ms Suu Kyi's detention. But China, Russia and
other council members reject Myanmar's situation posing a threat to
international peace and security. Despite the ouster of Beijing's
favourite, Khin Nuynt, China supports junta. As Wen Jiabao said in July,
China will not change its Myanmar policy "no matter how the international
situation fluctuates".

The Bush Administration's alarm bell about Myanmar acquiring WMD is
significant. Yangon acquiring ballistic missiles and announcement to
develop a nuclear facility with Russian Minatom's assistance since 2002
raised the eyebrows of many. The project, stalled earlier due to financial
reasons, seems to have revived now. Minatom is to construct 10 mega-watt
pool-type reactors in Kyaukse near Mandalay. However, the IAEA team that
visited Myanmar in 2001, doubted the country's preparedness to maintain
safety standards. There were reports suggesting North Korea taking over
the project from Russia. Pakistani nuclear experts, too, have been
visiting Myanmar since 2001, which include a recent delegation led by
Zaifullah to Pyinmana. These developments, along with the junta's plans to
acquire an additional squadron of Russian MIG-25, raise the growing
suspicions of Myanmar becoming the next rogue state for America.

The junta's reconvening on December 5 the National Convention (NC) to
draft a new constitution as part of its 'Seven-step Roadmap' to form a
"genuine and disciplined democratic system" lacks specific timeframe or
itinerary; indeed, of important details of "transition process". The chart
shows the junta effectively controlling all the procedures and processes
of "democratisation". Tatmadow wants to exercise complete control over the
road and the map. Tatmadow's new law No. 5/96 severely restricts open
debate which could be enforced against those offering new format.

The Opposition equally remains steadfast on restricting Tatmadow's future
role in politics. The ceasefire with insurgents appears fragile; more so
with those outside the legal fold who may seek higher protection of
rights. These, along with power struggle within the junta that became
intense after Khin Nyunt's departure, could derail the NC process. The
lack of the NC's credibility is another issue as Western powers threw
their weight behind the Opposition's legitimacy.

The junta, however, considers the NC moving at delicate political stage;
and, as such, release of Ms Suu Kyi and Tin Oo could disrupt the process.
Their release is unlikely to come about until the main principle of
constitution is ready and the way is clear for a referendum. Ms Suu Kyi's
popularity undoubtedly remains intact, but some of the pro-democracy
groups and ranks within NLD are not happy with her leadership style.

The blocking of the chairmanship for Yangon has exposed ASEAN's
credibility. So far, neither the ASEAN's engagement strategy nor the
punitive sanction policy used by the US and the EU has produced any
positive results. A section in the US thinks that sanctions would not work
against Myanmar because it is a pre-industrial state that can limp along
on its own. There is merit in this argument.

Tatmadow cannot be wished away easily. But the junta's rationalisation to
exercise power for protecting the country's sovereignty and territorial
integrity appears to be both an exaggeration and an illusion. In the
context of the failure of the West and the ASEAN, there is a need to break
the impasse. The UN, along with China, India and Thailand, should start
the trilateral process under the "1+3 framework" to map out an action plan
as a starting point for an agreed, workable approach to break the vicious
cycle of exaggerated expectations and ground realities.

After securing the confidence of all the concerned parties, the group
could work out phased procedures and mechanisms to assist the
reconciliation process. The group should guarantee Myanmar's security
interests. A coordinated EU, US, Japan and ASEAN approach by way of
economic measures in support of the "1+3" is necessary. Once the action
plan is accepted, the West could lift sanctions. Meanwhile, the UN should
consider mollifying the Tatmadow by engaging its professional military in
international peace-keeping and peace-building missions.

India cannot ignore China's changing Myanmar policy. Beijing could be
making the conciliatory gesture towards the Opposition without
antagonising the junta, with the belief that without the NLD's
participation, the process could be long and difficult. India has quietly
supported the democratic process in Myanmar.

If we are not careful, the democratic agenda supported by India could be
usurped by China. India's national interest also lies in preventing the US
fomenting crisis in its strategic neighbourhood.

(The writer is a senior fellow, Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses)