News Highlight
Myanmar is struggling to cope with the consequences of a military coup, and people are suffering; authorities and opposition forces are locked in a cycle of violent clashes.
Key Takeaway
- The economy of Myanmar is deteriorating, and ASEAN’s mission to produce a solution has failed.
What led to the military coup in Myanmar?
- In early 2021, the country’s Parliament had been expected to endorse recent election results and approve the next government.
- The military refused to accept the results of the vote, which was widely seen as a referendum on the popularity of Ms Aung San Suu Kyi.
- As head of the National League for Democracy, she had been the de facto civilian leader since her election in 2015.
- The military says the November 2020 general election was full of “irregularities” and has maintained that the results are, therefore, invalid.
Myanmar’s internal conflicts and challenges of India
- Porous Indo-Myanmar Border
- The 1643-km-long Indo-Myanmar border facilitates the cross-border movement of militants, illegal arms and drugs and is highly porous.
- The border runs along hilly and inhospitable terrain and provides cover for various Indian Insurgent Groups (IIGs) activities.
- China’s Influence
- The growing international isolation of the Myanmar government led by the Army could again push the country into dependence on China.
- Since the coup, China’s economic grip over Myanmar has become tighter, with a particular focus on projects critical for the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor.
- Erodes Progress made in the last decade
- The quasi-democratic experiment that Myanmar had started a decade back has now been aborted.
- India was the champion of Democracy in Myanmar and had guided its Democratic transition.
- Obstacles in Foreign Policy Agenda
- Recent developments in Myanmar pose a severe policy challenge to India.
- Instability in Myanmar hurts India’s interests, where a stable Myanmar is an essential element for the success of India’s ‘Neighbourhood First’, ‘Act East’, and ‘Indo-Pacific’ policies.
- Delayed Connectivity Projects
- Peace in Myanmar’s Chin and Rakhine states is essential for completing the Kaladan Multimodal Transit Transport Project and the Trilateral Highway project.
- The political instability slows down these connectivity projects, further delaying the sub-regional integration.
- Refugee Issue
- The refugee influx from Myanmar to Manipur and Mizoram (due to common ethnic links and family ties) is a matter of concern for India due to Political instability in Myanmar.
India’s stance
- India expressed its concerns that the democratic gains made by Myanmar over the previous decades should not be undermined.
- India reiterated its “support to the process of democratic transition” and assured that India’s developmental and humanitarian efforts in Myanmar aimed at the socio-economic development of the country would continue.
- India’s envoy to the UN said to UNHRC that the rule of law and democratic processes in Myanmar must be upheld and the detained political leaders released
Content Source: The Hindu