India-Burma Relations Hitting a Dead End?

Over the past two decades, India's approach to Burma has undergone a complete turnaround, from support for the country’s democracy movement following the popular uprising in 1988 to today’s cozy relationship with its military dictators. The shift was motivated by three main goals: a desire to counter China’s growing influence in Burma; a wish to use Burma as a gateway to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) for trade and investment as part of India’s “Look East” policy; and a hope for assistance from Burma in cracking down on insurgency in the Northeast. But since India began to fundamentally reorient its Burma policy in the mid-1990s, it has had little to show for its closer ties with the Burmese generals.