The Shan state of Myanmar is the largest producer of illegal drugs within the infamous Golden Triangle—a tri-junction at the Myanmar, Laos and Thailand borders.
Given Myanmar’s geostrategic significance and the continuing insurgency threat, disturbances in Myanmar pose a direct and serious policy challenge to India. A calculated realistic approach weighing the evolving ground situation alone will deliver the objectives of India’s foreign policy.
The Russia–Myanmar relationship is gathering strength. Bangladesh wants to use the increasing bonhomie between Russia and Myanmar to start a tri-lateral process to reach an amicable solution to the Rohingya refugee crisis.
India must continue to engage with the Tatmadaw, even as it supports the efforts of the UN and the ASEAN to restore democratic processes and prevent violence and conflict in Myanmar.
The question of autonomy or self-determination in Myanmar goes back to the country’s pre-independence era. It is an important historical issue which unified and divided the country. The idea of forming a union government that would grant equal status to all citizens brought together different ethnic groups at the Panglong conference in 1947. However, the country’s conflicts remain and efforts are on to address the decades-old problems. One possible solution widely discussed is federalism.
The success of India's diplomacy will lie in the extent to which it can induce Naypyitaw to take a long view in the interests of its own political stability, internal security and social harmony.
BIMSTEC needs to build on regional synergies and work towards utilising the available resources optimally by focusing on fewer priority areas and undertaking projects that are economically feasible.
The result of the by-election clearly indicates the need for the NLD government to speedily engender trust among the ethnic minorities. A successful peace process and peace negotiations can be one aspect of it.
The many links between drugs, small arms and insurgency have been widely discussed and addressed by scholars. The literature in particular has convincingly shown how several insurgent groups in Myanmar have used the drug business to finance and sustain their violent movements. Funds generated from drug production and circulation help the insurgent groups to procure arms, and are widely believed to be supporting the protracted nature of these movements.
