NEW DELHI – India “stands ready” to give assistance to earthquake-hit neighbouring Myanmar, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Saturday. The Indian leader said he was “deeply saddened” at the news of the powerful 6.8-magnitude quake on Thursday that left 75 dead and reduced homes to rubble. “India stands ready to render any assistance that your government may require of us,” Singh said in his message to Myanmar’s military regime.
The quake struck in the east of the country near the borders with Thailand and Laos and was felt as far away as the Vietnamese capital Hanoi. India has close ties with Myanmar’s military regime. It began courting the junta in the mid-1990s as security, energy and strategic priorities came to the fore. As well as needing the military regime’s help to counter the separatists along their common border, India is eyeing oil and gas fields in Myanmar and is eager to counter China’s growing influence there.
Hello Myanmar – K
Comments are closed.