Indian officials have claimed that China is aiding insurgent teams that have stepped up assaults on its border with Myanmar in current months, opening one other entrance within the jostling between two nations already engaged in a potentially lethal standoff within the Himalayas.
United Wa State Army along with armed teams of Myanmar and the Arakan Army, which was named as a terrorist group recently are acting as Beijing’s allies and involved in supplying weapons to rebel teams.
The officials have said that multiple agencies have warned Narendra Modi’s government that at least four of India’s most wanted insurgent leaders were in the southern Chinese city of Kunming to train and source weapons as recently as mid-October.
Due to the increased activity alongside the Myanmar border, the Indian military has deployed several battalions consisting of 1,000 troops into the Myanmar border.
The New Delhi officials said that those insurgents arrested in the Indo-Myanmar were supplied with weapons from the Arakan Army, which had received support from China.
In a webinar organized by the National Defence College when asked bout the situation, Ajay Bhalla, one of the top bureaucrats in the Home Ministry refused to give a direct answer to the situation. However, he said “Some of the insurgent groups are troublemakers, but we are negotiating peace with others,”
The Indian army chief has visited Nagaland for three days recently on November 24 to understand the severity of the conflict. Indian and Myanmar troops also launched a joined operation against Indian rebel groups including the People’s Liberation Army of Manipur.
Both India and China are investing in Myanmar for strategic reasons.
Myanmar is the only Southeast Asian country that shares a land border with north-eastern India, stretching some 1,624 kms. The neighbours also share a 725-km maritime boundary in the Bay of Bengal. Beijing is investing in gas pipelines and roads to link its southern province of Yunnan with the Bay of Bengal the Indian government has invested 29 billion in infrastructure projects such as Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport (KMMTT), which aims to connect the eastern Indian seaport of Kolkata with the Sittwe deep-water port in Myanmar’s Rakhine state by sea
Meanwhile, the Chinese foreign ministry has denied all the allegations claiming that the country was aiding armed groups against India. The ministry has released the written statement that mentions “China has always taken a prudent and responsible attitude toward arms exports”
The United Wa State Army has also denied their involvement in providing support to Indian rebel groups. Nyi Rang, the spokesperson of the United Wa State Army remarked that the group does not have any connection with India’s national security adding that “we do not harm that country at all. So, we think we don’t need to comment on such kind of allegations.”
