US to consult India, China on its Burma policy

Announcing its policy to enter into a dialogue with Myanmar's military junta, the Obama Administration said it would actively consult and seek the help of countries like India and China as part of its new Burma policy.

Announcing its policy to enter into a dialogue with Myanmar's military junta, the Obama Administration on Tuesday said it would actively consult and seek the help of countries like India and China as part of its new Burma policy.

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"We will intensify our engagement with ASEAN, China, and India to press the Burmese leadership to reform and to participate responsibly in the international community," Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Public Affairs Kurt Campbell said.

Announcing that the Obama Administration intends to begin a direct dialogue with Burmese authorities to lay out a path towards better relations, Campbell said: "The dialogue will include specific discussion of democracy and human rights inside Burma, cooperation on international security issues such as nonproliferation and compliance with 1874 and 1718, and areas that could be of mutual benefit such as counter-narcotics and recovery of World War II era remains."

At the same time, he insisted that US would not lift sanctions until it sees concrete progress towards reform.

"Lifting sanctions now would send the wrong signal. We will tell the Burmese that we will discuss easing sanctions only if they take actions on our core concerns. We will reserve the option to apply additional targeted sanctions, if warranted, by events inside Burma," he said.