New Delhi: Continuing India’s engagement with the Myanmar military regime, the Indian Navy’s chief hydrographer reached the Southeast Asian nation for the first-ever joint meeting with his counterparts.This meeting also takes place a week after the Myanmar navy inducted a China-made submarine. The visit by the senior Indian naval officer also takes place soon after the Indian foreign secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla travelled to Myanmar for the first official trip by a senior Indian government official after the February 2020 coup by the Junta.The arrival of the Indian Navy’s chief hydrographer, Vice Admiral Adhir Arora, was announced in the Wednesday edition of Myanmar’s state-run newspaper, the Global New Light of Myanmar.The report on page 2 stated that the Indian navy’s chief hydrographer had arrived in Yangon on Tuesday evening for a five-day visit to attend the “first Joint Committee meeting”. It added that the senior Indian naval officers were welcomed at Yangon international airport by senior officers of the Tatmadaw – as Myanmar’s armed forces are known – and the Indian naval attaché to Myanmar.The Indian naval outreach took place just three weeks after Indian foreign secretary Harsh Shringla met with the Junta’s top leaders, including Senior General Min Aung Hlaing and unnamed opposition members. Shringla’s sojourn was significant as it was the first time that a senior Indian government official had gone to Myanmar after the Tatmadaw overthrew the civilian government in February 2020. The military has imprisoned all the top civilian leaders, including Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and ordered a widespread crackdown against all protestors.On social media, Myanmar opposition circles, who are against any engagement by the international community with the junta regime, criticised the latest visit by an Indian government delegation.During the visit, Shringla spoke of the need for a “return to democracy”, even as he also pointed out security concerns about insurgent groups in northeast India.While India has talked about democracy in the context of Myanmar, New Delhi has remained relatively muted compared to western countries, concerned that the Junta will rush towards the open arms of China. India’s defence attaché attended the Army day parade, along with China, Russia and a couple of Southeast Asian nations, a month after the February coup.India has also largely abstained on resolutions brought against Myanmar in the UN General Assembly and UN Human Rights Council over the last year, which aligns with its long-standing principle of not supporting a country-specific rebuke. While New Delhi has supported the ASEAN approach on Myanmar, the junta regime has largely refused to play ball by not allowing the ASEAN special envoy to meet with imprisoned opposition leaders. Indian foreign secretary had also requested a meeting with Suu Kyi, but authorities refused it.Last month, the Tatmadaw had renamed and commissioned a former Type 35B Ming-class submarine of the People’s Liberation Army Navy. It was the second submarine inducted by Myanmar after the Indian Navy’s Kilo-class submarine INS Sindhuvir in 2020.According to a 2019 report of the Myanmar Naval Hydrographic Centre, officers are routinely sent to India for various hydrography courses over the years.The last joint hydrographic survey took place in early 2019 when Myanmar Survey Ship INNYA and Indian Survey Ship INS Darshak near Andrew Bay on the coastal zone of Rakhine province.