Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, 1 June raised the issue of Indian insurgent groups operating inside Myanmar during bilateral talks with visiting Myanmar President U Min Aung Hlaing in New Delhi. The discussions centred on cross-border security threats, Myanmar's internal peace process, and India's broader connectivity interests in Southeast Asia.

What Modi Raised With the Myanmar President

Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, briefing reporters after the summit, confirmed that the Prime Minister directly flagged the activities of Indian insurgent groups sheltering near the 1,643-kilometre shared border. President U Min Aung Hlaing reportedly reaffirmed Myanmar's commitment to addressing these concerns.

'There is the very important question of the activities of Indian insurgent groups in Myanmar close to our borders. And this is something, again, that the Prime Minister raised with the President, and the President once again reiterated his assurance that Myanmar was sensitive to these concerns and again would do everything necessary to ensure that there was action against these, and these did not become a cause of threat against the security of India,' Misri stated.

Myanmar's Internal Security and Peace Efforts

Misri also addressed the ongoing hostilities between Myanmar's military and various ethnic armed organisations, noting that Naypyidaw is actively working to bring these groups onto a single platform to advance a national peace process. He described the effort as an attempt to build 'broad national consensus' around potential governance reforms.

'This is essentially an effort to see how the current structure of governance or the system of government that Myanmar has, what kinds of changes might be needed in that so that something is crafted around which there is broad national consensus and then move forward on that basis,' he added.

India's Strategic Stakes in Myanmar's Stability

Beyond immediate security concerns, Misri underscored that stability in Myanmar is integral to India's connectivity ambitions in Southeast Asia. A volatile Myanmar, he noted, also threatens the cohesion of ASEAN, of which Myanmar is a significant member.

'It is not just for the security of the northeast and the safety and security of people living along the 1,643-kilometre long border that we have with them but also for our interests, such as connectivity to Southeast Asia,' he said. 'Security and stability in Myanmar are also important for the coherence of ASEAN as a whole.'

Broader Context

The talks come amid a prolonged civil conflict in Myanmar following the February 2021 military takeover, which has displaced hundreds of thousands and emboldened multiple armed factions along India's northeastern frontier. India has maintained working ties with the Myanmar military government while also engaging ethnic armed groups in border states — a delicate balancing act that this summit appears designed to reinforce. Notably, the insurgent groups operating from Myanmar have historically posed a direct threat to stability in states such as Manipur, Nagaland, and Mizoram.

New Delhi's dual emphasis — pressing for action on insurgents while supporting Myanmar's internal dialogue — signals that India views security and diplomacy as inseparable in its eastern neighbourhood. How effectively Naypyidaw follows through on its assurances will be closely watched in the months ahead.