A Review of Where China Meets India: Burma and the New Crossroads of Asia

In the midst of what appears to be Myanmar’s year of reform, Burmese author and historian Thant Myint-U, by far the best-known – and most controversial – Burmese scholar, has put out a timely book. Where China Meets India continues the argument he made in his last book, The River of Lost Footsteps, that decades of Western isolation of Myanmar have proven counterproductive, and that foreign countries should instead engage with the country.  He further argues that Burma’s growing strategic significance, as a bridge between the two Asian giants, and a source of oil, gas, and other natural resources, means that, even if the West does not engage, the country will become increasingly integrated internationally, and potentially prosperous.

In this week’s issue of The Nation, I have an extended review of Thant Myint-U’s book. You can read it here.