INDIA CONTINUES "CLOSE AND NEIGHBORLY" TIES WITH

C O N F I D E N T I A L NEW DELHI 005306 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/13/2027 TAGS: PGOV PREL BM IN SUBJECT: INDIA CONTINUES "CLOSE AND NEIGHBORLY" TIES WITH BURMA Classified By: A/DCM Ted Osius for reasons 1.4 (b and d) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) announced that Deputy Minister in Burma's Ministry of Foreign Affairs Kyaw Thu visited Delhi on December 11-12 for regularly scheduled Foreign Office consultations. Thu met with External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon. The two sides reportedly SIPDIS signed an MOU to establish the India-Myanmar Center for Enhancement of Information Technology Skills on 12 December and discussed various developments projects including the Kaladan Multi-modal Transport Project (Sittwe Port). The visit signaled that the GOI continues a business as usual approach to Burma. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (C) Burmese Deputy Minister Kyaw Thu led a delegation to Delhi on December 11-12 to discuss "areas of mutual interest." The GOI's official press release noted that the talks were marked by "the friendship and cordiality that mark relations between India and Myanmar as close neighbors" and part of regularly scheduled Foreign Office consultations, one of seven institutional mechanisms between the two countries for bilateral dialogue. The previous round was attended by Indian Prime Minister's Office Special Envoy Shyam Saran in June, 2006. Noting that bilateral trade is nearly USD one billion, the MEA press release emphasized India's commitment to the Kaladan Multi-modal Transport Project which includes USD 103 million in Indian infrastructure upgrades to Burma's Sittwe port. In addition, the two sides signed a Memorandum of Understanding to establish the India-Myanmar Center for Enhancement of Information Technology Sills in Yangon, a project subsidized by the GOI. MEA's Burma desk declined to comment further on the visit, stating that all aspects of the dialogue were addressed in the press briefing. ¶3. (C) The "Asian Age" reported that Burmese exiles residing in India questioned Indian motives for hosting a Burmese ministerial delegation at a time when the international community is trying to forge a coalition against the military junta. The newspaper quoted Parliament of the National League for Democracy member Dr. Tine Swe as stating that, "Instead of sending out a message of sympathy for the people of Burma, India is doing business with the Burmese military junta." ¶4. (C) COMMENT: More business as usual from India. Even if we are to take at face value the assurances that GOI has given that privately India is sending a strong message on the need for democratic reform in Burma, these public proclamations of close and neighborly ties send a mixed signal at best. It is difficult to see how the Burmese would be interpreting these signals as anything but India's tacit approval of the status quo. END COMMENT. WHITE