16 June 2026: The Special Advisory Council for Myanmar (SAC-M) has urged Australia to formally raise with fellow Quad member India its decision to host alleged war criminal and Myanmar junta leader Min Aung Hlaing in New Delhi in early June.

SAC-M has written to Australia’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Penny Wong, to ask that she demand an explanation from India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar bilaterally and through the Quad, which also includes Japan and the United States.

See our letter to Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong 

Prime Minister Modi’s engagement with Min Aung Hlaing is deeply at odds with the Quad’s position on Myanmar, which was agreed just weeks before the visit. It has caused significant damage to the Quad and to the reputations of its members.

Prime Minister Modi, SAC-M’s letter reads, has legitimised Min Aung Hlaing, who is responsible for the political imprisonment, torture, rape and deaths of thousands and the forced displacement of millions. Through its engagement, India has also risked further destabilisation of the region’s security and has recklessly undermined the path of genuine democracy in Myanmar.

The visit marked the junta leader’s first foreign trip since he anointed himself Myanmar’s “president” in April, following fraudulent elections.

Over the past decade, the Quad has sought to counter China’s growing influence in the region. Yet by recognising Min Aung Hlaing, India – the world’s most populous democracy – has brought its approach to Myanmar closer into line with Beijing’s.