Explainer | Why India is worried about China and Myanmar as conflict flares up in its northeast region
- Trouble has returned to India’s remote northeast bordering Myanmar, a region with historically testy ties with New Delhi
- India fears Myanmar could offer a safe haven for insurgents to regroup, as it also harbours suspicions rival China could be backing separatist groups
Trouble has returned to India’s remote northeast, a region that has long had a testy relationship with New Delhi. The area spans seven states, including four that share a border with Myanmar and one with China.
More than 200 ethnic groups and tribes live across the resource-rich region, where several insurgents and separatist movements operate.
Many of these separatist groups claim the Indian government has done little to help their communities since independence, but exploits them of their assets, from rare herbs in Assam to metals like copper in Sikkim and gold in Nagaland.
In recent months, the northeast has been rocked by fresh violence and protests against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration. These have been complicated by unrest in Myanmar against a military coup that toppled the elected government in February 2021.
At the same time, China’s growing engagement with Myanmar, its assertiveness in the Asia-Pacific and its ongoing border stand-off with India have also rattled New Delhi.
Why have clashes erupted in India’s northeast?
Since the latter half of 2021, a series of separate events fuelled by historical tensions and territorial feuds have shattered the uneasy peace in India’s northeast.