NEW DELHI:A week after India attacked the camps of Naga militants in Myanmar, National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval and Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar on Wednesday travelled to Nay pyi daw to smoothen ruffled features and ensure “continued” security cooperation along India-Myanmar border. The joint visit by the NSA and FS to Myanmar in such a short notice, showed the importance accorded to the relationship by New Delhi vis-a-vis its counter-terrorism efforts in Northeast.
In Myanmar’s sparsely populated capital city with 20 lane main roads, the two senior Indian officials met President Thein Sein, Commander-in-Chief of Armed Forces Min Aung Hlaing and Foreign Minister U Wunna Maung Lwin . Sources said besides the bilateral issues, a considerable part of the discussions centred on “continued security cooperation and coordination along the India-Myanmar border”. Incidentally, this is Jaishankar’s second visit to Myanmar -- he had earlier made a whirlwind trip in May.
The Army had on June 9 revealed that it had carried out surgical strikes against NSCN-K militants “along the India-Myanmar border”. However, a few hours later, Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting, Rajyavardhan Rathore publicly said the strikes had taken place “in Myanmar” and were a signal to Pakistan. This had led to raised eyebrows in the Myanmar capital, with the Presidential Office Director in Myanmar asserting that the Indian operation had only taken place “along the border”, as committed by Indian Ambassador Gautam Mukhopadhyay to the Foreign Office.