Myanmar crisis

THE influx of refugees from Myanmar, where the military junta is fighting a pitched battle with rebel forces, poses a challenge to India’s border security. On Sunday, the Indian authorities repatriated 29 Myanmarese soldiers, who had escaped to Mizoram’s Champhai district after their camp in Chin state was overrun by civilian armed forces. Around 5,000 civilians crossed over to Mizoram, which shares a 510-km-long porous border with Myanmar, after fresh violence erupted in the neighbouring country recently. Most of them have returned to Myanmar, according to the Mizoram police.

This is a critical time for this northeastern state, which went to the polls on November 7 and will have a new government early next month. There is a possibility that anti-India elements would try to capitalise on the mayhem in Myanmar to foment trouble in Mizoram and elsewhere in the North-East. Neighbouring Manipur has been on the boil for the past over six months, with ethnic clashes claiming more than 180 lives; in the latest incident, two persons were killed in a gunfight between rival groups in Kangpokpi district on Monday.

Calling for the cessation of violence in the wake of airstrikes at the India-Myanmar border, New Delhi has emphasised the importance of resolving the conflict through a constructive dialogue and facilitating an early return of peace, stability and democracy in Myanmar. The country has been in the throes of a civil war after the military junta seized power in a coup in February 2021. India needs to keep a close watch on the developments in view of its security and geopolitical interests. Also, New Delhi must take cognisance of the fact that Myanmar’s military has lost control of some sections of the border with China in recent weeks. With Beijing being an important stakeholder in the region and also a hostile neighbour, India cannot afford to let its guard down.