Myanmar army chief meets Modi, Jaitley

The commander-in-chief of the Myanmar Defence Forces on Friday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Arun Jaitley, taking forward the bilateral military relation between the two neighbours.

Expressing India’s firm commitment to strengthen the bilateral relationship with Myanmar in all areas, Modi said the Southeast Asian nation was a key pillar of India’s Act East Policy. This is the second visit of Myanmar’s top general in two years.

As Senior General Min Aung Hlaing briefed Modi about the bilateral defence and security cooperation, the prime minister  appreciated the close cooperation between the armed forces of the two nations. Hlaing also met Army Chief Gen Bipin Rawat.

In 2015, Myanmar allowed an Indian Army commando team to hit the armed Naga militants in their camps inside Myanmar territory. The militants ambushed an army convoy in Chandel district of Manipur, killing 18 Indian soldiers and injuring 15.

A year later, Naga militants alleged another cross-border raid by Indian soldiers, but that was denied by the army.

The meeting with Modi and Jaitley came in the backdrop of China’s increased belligerence along the border as India looks for allies in its eastern neighbourhood. Before landing in Delhi, Hlaing was in the Gaya Officer Training Academy where Rawat hosted a banquet in his honour. After visiting Bodh Gaya and Sarnath Buddhist circuits and the Ganga Ghat in Varanasi, Hlaing went to the army’s 11 Infantry Division in Ahmedabad, besides visiting the Amul dairy and Nano car factories.