India – Myanmar Strategic Friendship: Issues and Challenges

Along with historical, religious, and ethnic legacies, India and Myanmar are of immense importance to each other to ensure development and security in their respective nations. Both countries are strategically important and economically valuable for each other. India shapes this relationship through a twin neighbourhood strategy called ‘Neighbourhood First’ and ‘Act East Policy’ (AEP). Since Mr Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister (2014) in New Delhi, the bilateral relationship between both countries has been seriously boosted, even under the current junta administration. While Myanmar is known as the gateway to Southeast Asia for India, North-East India is its closest neighbourhood. Experts argue that the South Asian Region reaches Myanmar, and Southeast Asia ends in the northeastern parts of India. However, several challenges in bilateral relations question this argument. The paper critically evaluates the India-Myanmar bilateral relations in the present scenario. Keywords: Act East Policy, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Neighbourhood First, North-East India, Rohingya, Strategy