Before the protests, military ties between India and Burma had appeared to be on a fast track. Military contacts had increased in early 2007, with New Delhi seeking help battling Burmese-based insurgent groups operating on its northeastern border and also attempting to counteract China’s growing influence in the Burmese economy. Indian and Burmese military forces began conducting joint operations, and Indian officials indicated they would grant Burma’s request for military equipment.

In one sign of cooperation, India began discussing the transfer of military helicopters that Amnesty International, in a July report, said were “highly likely to contain components, technology and munitions” originating from European Union nations and the United States, undermining embargoes by those countries. “India’s relationship with Burma has expanded pretty dramatically in the past few years,” said Michael J. Green, a former top Asia adviser to President Bush who is now at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He said Southeast Asian neighbours of Burma had complained to Bush about India’s deepening military ties with Burma. “They expect it of China, but India is a democracy,” Green said. He said India’s decision to end arms sales to Burma is “a big deal for US-India relations. I think they are shifting.” More broadly, India’s move may put pressure on China, currently Burma’s largest trading partner and arms supplier, experts said.

Last week, a bipartisan group of 48 senators, led by Richard Durbin, D-Ill., and John McCain, R-Ariz., signed a letter to Bush urging him to support an international arms embargo against Burma, in the form of a UN Security Council resolution. “No responsible nation should provide weapons to a regime as reprehensible as the one found in Burma,” the letter said.

... contd.