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New Delhi: After Myanmar’s President Min Aung Hlaing met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India asserted that there was no choice but to engage with the former junta leader, with foreign secretary Vikram Misri saying that disengagement only produces a vacuum that others go on to fill “to our detriment”.

India is the first country Min Aung Hlaing has visited since being sworn in as president in April following elections that the democratic opposition and independent observers have described as neither free nor fair.

Min Aung Hlaing arrived in India on Saturday, beginning his visit with a stop in Bodh Gaya, where he offered prayers at the Mahabodhi Temple. He then travelled to New Delhi, where he was received by minister of state for external affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh, who had also represented India at his inauguration in Naypyidaw in April.

The last leg of his trip will be in Mumbai, where he will visit the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust and the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport.

Misri, briefing reporters after the talks on Monday, said India had “consistently engaged” with Myanmar while putting forward its views on democracy and the peace process.

“History has shown that disengagement does not give us any results that are better than engagement and it certainly does not produce democratic change,” he said. “The answer is clearly not disengagement. On the other hand, disengagement only produces a vacuum that others go on to fill to our detriment. And those others have no interest in democracy, I can assure you about that.”

While not mentioned explicitly, Misri appeared to be referring to China, on which Myanmar has become increasingly dependent since the military seized power in 2021 after overthrowing the civilian government led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.

The visit has drawn criticism from Myanmar opposition groups and human rights advocates, who argue that high-level engagement risks conferring legitimacy on a government that came to power through a military coup.

Ahead of the trip, the Justice for Myanmar group condemned India’s decision to host Min Aung........

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