India-Myanmar borderlands

The India-Myanmar border is not only a frontier that New Delhi needs to secure, but is also a vital tool in India’s foreign policy.

The drug menace in India’s northeastern states has major implications for the country’s external and internal security.

When the British drew the India-Myanmar border, they arbitrarily divided Indigenous communities. With Myanmar embroiled in war, that long-ago decision is echoing in India’s Northeast.

India’s junta-focused diplomacy and lack of abiding relationships with armed groups in Myanmar have limited its response to the fluid situation in the war-torn country.

Myanmar’s deteriorating situation risks destabilizing India’s Northeast, while the junta’s embrace of China poses threats in the Indian Ocean.

Myanmar’s army launched several airstrikes on an ethnic Chin armed group near the Indian border.

Given the geopolitical and security interests, India cannot afford to ignore or isolate Myanmar.

New Delhi’s appeasement of the Tatmadaw could trigger angry protests, and perhaps inflame anti-India insurgencies in the northeast.

The ambush came amid a reshuffling of the Naga separatist movement in Myanmar.

The fates of thousands hang in the balance as India’s National Register of Citizens comes under question.

A recent offensive has the Naga rebels stepping back.