Min Aung Hlaing Officially Sworn In as President — China and India Attend Inauguration

Myanmar junta chief Min Aung Hlaing was officially sworn in as the country's 11th president on April 10, 2026, formalizing the military's cosmetic transition from overt junta rule to a military-backed nominal civilian government. China sent special envoy Jiang Xinzhi and India dispatched Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh to attend the ceremony — the attendance of Myanmar's two most important regional partners conferring a degree of regional legitimacy on the transition that the NUG, UN, US, and EU have strongly condemned. The inauguration completes a months-long constitutional theater orchestrated by the SAC: Min Aung Hlaing retired as military Commander-in-Chief on March 30 to meet the civilian candidacy requirement under the 2008 constitution, was elected vice-president by the junta-packed lower house on April 1, and was selected as president by a junta-controlled electoral college on April 3 with 429 of 584 votes. China's engagement prioritizes protection of its Belt and Road Initiative investments — including the Kyaukpyu deep-sea port and trans-Myanmar pipelines — while India's attendance reflects New Delhi's longstanding policy of engaging the Tatmadaw as a strategic partner to check Chinese influence and secure its northeastern border. The NUG, which holds the legitimate democratic mandate, rejected the proceedings as illegal and called on the international community to deny recognition.