Two interesting recent pieces re: Myanmar & Afghanistan

Angshuman Choudhury on India’s (partially/potentially) changing approach to Myanmar in The Diplomat: “Vanlalvena’s meeting with the AA, which couldn’t have happened without some degree of approval from the federal government in India, shows that the needle might be shifting in New Delhi. There is now a subtle but certain recognition in parts of the Indian political and security establishments that the SAC is losing Myanmar rapidly. This is especially true for western Myanmar – Rakhine and Chin States – where the AA, Chin National Front/Army (CNF/A) and other Chin armed groups have made sweeping territorial gains since October when the Three Brotherhood Alliance launched coordinated offensives against junta targets in the north.”
Asfandyar Mir and Andrew Watkins on regional engagement with the Taliban in Foreign Affairs: “Two and a half years into Taliban rule, however, the United States has little to show for this approach. For one thing, the Taliban appear to be unmoved by global shaming,. . . . The U.S. approach is also struggling because a growing number of governments, such as China’s, are not treating the Taliban as a pariah regime. . .Nonrecognition is no longer a credible coercive tool, and if the United States seeks to influence Taliban behavior, it must find other ways to achieve its desired aims.”