June 3, International Herald Tribune India coddles its despotic neighbors - Michael Vatikiotis courtesy: www.burmanet.org - enjoy Singapore: Isn't it time that the world's largest democracy started behaving like one? Much as India deserves plaudits for ensuring that more than a billion people enjoy the rights and liberty that democracy endows, it could surely do more to promote these values in its own neighborhood. To the north there is Nepal, where a reactionary monarchy battles a protracted Maoist insurgency and freedom is the loser. To the east there is Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, where an entrenched military junta refuses to yield to elected democratic forces and, according to human rights organizations, harshly suppresses ethnic minorities. The rest of the free world is hammering on the Burmese generals to free the opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi - who was educated in India - from house arrest and speed the transition to civilian rule. But little if anything is heard from New Delhi on this score. Instead, India is courting the Burmese generals, offering to help build roads and pipelines. India, which now accounts for more than a quarter of all Myanmar's exports, is one of the few major free markets that does not impose trade sanctions on the country. It's a similar story in Nepal, where King Gyanendra recently sacked the government and imposed martial law. India at first suspended arms supplies, but quickly resumed them, citing concerns about growing Chinese influence in the kingdom. India is influential in both countries but chooses not to apply pressure for political change because it puts strategic interests before principles. "It's a difficult choice, but we have decided to engage the junta in Yangon," says Sudhir Devare, a former Indian diplomat now a fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore. On a purely geopolitical level this approach is logical and pragmatic. India's competitor in the region is China, which has no agenda for political change in Myanmar and is helping to build naval bases on the Andaman Sea coast facing India. Beijing is also actively courting Nepal. Like America during the cold war, India has determined that coddling despots is the best way to avoid losing strategic ground. Myanmar's military leader, Than Shwe, was invited on an official visit to India in October 2004. In order not to offend the visiting general, the Indian government refused entry to a number of speakers invited to a pro-democracy conference on Myanmar timed to coincide with Than Shwe's visit. But some question whether it is so wise for India to allow narrow strategic interests to determine the complexion of its foreign policy. A former Indian defense minister, George Fernandes, has said India must play a bigger role in helping to establish a democratic government in Myanmar. Now that India is being considered for a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council, it might be wise for the government in New Delhi to consider how its democratic credentials play. Japan, which is also seeking a seat on the Security Council, appears to have reconsidered its engagement policy; after Aung San Suu Kyi's latest detention, in mid-2003, Tokyo froze all financial aid to Myanmar. The world tends to place on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations the burden of pressuring Myanmar, which was admitted as a member state in 1997. Asean is under fire for allowing Myanmar to assume the chairmanship of Asean this year. Yet it could be argued that rather than Asean it is China and India, Myanmar's two biggest neighbors and trading partners, that could bring the most effective influence to bear. China's position is pretty clear, and also inexcusable. Beijing frequently reminds the military leadership in Yangon that constructive political reform is important, but insists that reform must be executed at a pace that the generals are comfortable with, in the interests of adhering to principles of noninterference. In other words, don't embarrass us, but don't move so fast. But then China is no democracy. India's economic emergence is sure to be accompanied by claims to join the global team. The United States considers India a strategic partner and often cites the two countries' shared democratic values as a basis for this partnership. India, as the world's largest democracy, should join other democracies in the struggle to promote liberty. Myanmar would be a good place to start. (Michael Vatikiotis is a visiting research fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore.)