Junta ties defended

INDIA’S foreign minister yesterday defended his country’s ties with the Myanmar junta, despite growing international concerns about recent executions and the legitimacy of elections planned for next year.

Myanmar’s decade-long experiment with democracy was halted last year and the country has since spiralled into bloody conflict.

But India, China and Russia have continued to engage with the regime.

Indian Minister of External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said New Delhi’s position on Myanmar has been consistent over decades and goes back to the country’s struggle for freedom against colonialism.

As a direct neighbour India could not avoid dealing with the military junta regime because of border issues and Indian insurgents in Myanmar, he said.