India extends a guarded welcome

India welcomed Aung San Suu Kyi's release with a nuanced statement on Saturday.

India welcomed Aung San Suu Kyi's release with a nuanced statement on Saturday.

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"The Government of India welcomes [Suu Kyi's] release," said External Affairs Minister SM Krishna. “We hope that this will be the beginning of the process of reconciliation in Myanmar.”

Speaking in the Indian Parliament in the context of US support for a permanent UN Security Council seat for India, US president Barack Obama had urged India to do more to address the violation of human rights in Myanmar.

New Delhi's statement, however, underlines the geopolitics-dictated pragmatism that dominates this relationship.

The 1,640-km-long shared boundary aside, Myanmar is under keen Chinese watch.

New Delhi and Myanmar have also shared a very close relationship in areas like security cooperation, an important consideration given that insurgents from the north-east often use Myanmar as a hideout.