Myanmar

India says it will continue engaging with Myanmar after Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke with Min Aung Hlaing, the leader of the country’s military government, in New Delhi.

Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri told reporters on Monday that India’s policy is “not intended to be a commentary on the internal political arrangements” in Myanmar and that New Delhi believes engagement is the best way forward.

Western nations have sought to isolate Myanmar’s military rulers since they overthrew the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in a 2021 coup that triggered a crackdown on opponents and a brutal civil war.

The conflict began when the country’s army leader, Min Aung Hlaing, ousted the government and detained civilian leaders, including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.

Some critics and human rights groups have said Min Aung Hlaing’s visit to India risks lending legitimacy to the military-backed government.

“We have always proceeded on the principle that sustained dialogue is what is important,” Misri said, adding that isolating Myanmar would be counterproductive.

“History has shown that disengagement doesn’t give us any results that are better than engagement.”

The visit is Min Aung Hlaing’s first to India since he was sworn in as president in April following an election that critics say was designed to cement his hold on power. His last visit to India was in 2019, when he served as Myanmar’s military chief.

He arrived in India on Saturday, first in the eastern state of Bihar, with a visit to the Buddhist pilgrimage site of Bodh Gaya, where believers say that the Buddha attained enlightenment.

India shares a 1,643-kilometre (1,020-mile) border with Myanmar and a maritime boundary in the Bay of Bengal.

Strategic partnership

Myanmar is also strategically important to India’s security interests. The two countries have cooperated on border security and intelligence sharing to combat armed rebel groups.

Modi and Min Aung Hlaing did not address the media after their meeting, as usually occurs after most bilateral talks involving visiting heads of state or government in New Delhi.

But Misri said the two leaders discussed trade, defence and security cooperation, border management, and regional issues, with talks also focusing on expanding economic and technology ties. He said both sides agreed to deepen collaboration across sectors, including trade, energy and critical minerals, and to accelerate major connectivity projects.

Min Aung Hlaing is expected to hold talks with business representatives during his five-day visit, and will travel to the financial hub, Mumbai.

Bilateral trade was $1.95bn in 2025-2026, according to New Delhi.

The leaders also discussed cooperation against cybercrime and human trafficking, issues that have affected thousands of Indians lured to scam centres in the region.

Misri said India and Myanmar have worked together to rescue more than 2,400 Indian nationals over the past 18 months.

Resistance groups formed after the 2021 coup have captured swaths of Myanmar. Others sought out and fought under the leadership of ethnic armies in exchange for training and weapons with which to fight the military.

These resistance groups, known as the People’s Defence Force (PDF), nominally operate under the leadership of the National Unity Government (NUG), a shadow government formed by Myanmar lawmakers removed by the military coup.

Zin Mar Aung, the foreign minister of the NUG, wrote a letter to Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, the minister of external affairs for India, on May 28, expressing concern about the visit.

“Since the military coup of 2021, which overturned the democratic will of the people, Myanmar has endured prolonged conflict, instability, and immense humanitarian suffering,” she said.

“India has long championed democratic governance, the rule of law, and regional stability. We therefore urge the Government of India to weigh carefully the broader implications of formal engagement that may normalise or legitimise military rule in Myanmar.”

May 31 (UPI) — Fifty-five people were killed, including six children, in an accidental detonation of mining explosives in a rebel-held area of Myanmar, the armed group said Sunday.

The Palaung Self Liberation Front/Ta’ang National Liberation Army, also known as the PSLF/TNLA, said in a statement that many others were also hurt in the blast, which happened Sunday afternoon local time in northern Shan State.

Rescuers told the Shwe Phee Myay News Agency the entire village of Kaung Tat in Namkham Township had been virtually destroyed and that “dozens” had been injured in the disaster.

Local officials have sent out an urgent call for blood donations as emergency workers tried to free victims trapped in rubble.

The PSLF/TNLA confirmed that many homes in the village were damaged when soft gunpowder stored for mining operations accidentally exploded at around 12:30 p.m.

The fatalities included 25 females and 30 males, they said, adding that the cause of the explosion will be investigated in detail.

Authorities, they said, “will take action in accordance with the law.”

The Ta’ang National Liberation Army is one of the main ethnic rebel groups in Myanmar fighting for independence from the central government, which along with its ally the Palaung Self Liberation Front comprise a front of resistance to the country’s military government.

May 1 (UPI) — The military government in Myanmar announced former leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who was ousted in 2021, has been moved from prison to house arrest.

Military leader Min Aung Hlaing released a statement to state media saying 80-year-old Aung San Suu Kyi, who was sentenced to 27 years in prison after the military coup, will serve the remainder of her sentence on house arrest at an undisclosed location.

Aung San Suu Kyi’s party came to power in 2015. She had previously spent decades as a pro-democracy activist, leading to her spending more than 15 years under house arrest. She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts in 1991.

Her whereabouts since being convicted on charges including corruption and election fraud in 2021 have not been confirmed, but it is believed that she was being held at a military prison in Nay Pyi Taw, the nation’s capital.

The former leader’s son, Kim Aris, said he is skeptical of the announcement. He said a photo of his mother recently released by the military is “meaningless” as it was taken in 2022.

“I hope this is true. I still haven’t seen any real evidence to show that she has been moved,” Kim Aris told the BBC. “So, until I’m allowed communication with her, or somebody can independently verify her condition and her whereabouts, then I won’t believe anything.”