One of India's representatives at the ASEAN regional security meeting in Malaysia has said his country will not isolate Burma in an attempt to encourage democracy in that country.
Rao Inderjit Singh, a junior minister with India's Defense Ministry, made the comments to Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer during bilateral talks and then later to reporters.
He said while India supports democracy in Burma, there are other countries on India's borders that also need to become democratic. Singh said "we have to live with our neighbors."
India and Burma have cooperated in the past in putting down insurgencies in India's northeast, especially when Indian insurgents have sought refuge by crossing the border into Burma.