India has decided to build a fence along its 1,643-kilometre border with Myanmar, Indian Home Minister Amit Shah announced on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
He also said a patrol track along the border is to be constructed for better surveillance.
“The Modi government is committed to building impenetrable borders,” the federal Home Minister said.
The country has already built a 10-kilometre-long fence along the border in the state of Manipur, which drew global attention due to the ongoing ethnic conflict in the region.
Shah also shared details about two fencing pilot projects along India’s north-eastern states, Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur, and approval of a new 20-kilometre-long fence in Manipur.
Earlier in January, the federal home minister announced India’s intention to build the fence and plans to reconsider the Free Movement Regime agreement with Myanmar.
The Free Movement Agreement between the two countries allows for people from tribal communities living along the border on either side to travel up to a certain distance inside the other country without a visa.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government updated the agreement in 2018.
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With the proposal of the new fencing along the entire border and reconsideration of the Free Movement Agreement, the free movement of tribal peoples is in question.
The decision to strengthen its porous borders comes amid growing instability in Myanmar since the military coup in 2021 and ethnic conflict in the border state of Manipur, in which over 180 people died. (dpa/NAN)
