Centre ‘concerned’ over Army Chief’s statement of troops crossing into Myanmar

Army Chief General Bipin Rawat recently confirmed that Indian troops crossed into Myanmar in 2015 for operations. The statement, however, is seen as a cause for concern, officials from the Home and External Affairs Ministry, reported The Hindu.

The statement comes at a time when India and Myanmar have been in constant talks over the refugee crisis in the Rohingya region. A senior official said the diplomatic concerns had been conveyed to General Rawat.

At a book release function in Pune on Friday, General Rawat elaborated on the cross-border raid carried out by the Army on NSCN-K militant hideouts in Myanmar. The strikes were carried out in retaliation for an ambush in Manipur when 18 soldiers were killed by Myanmar-based terrorists. At the time, General Rawat was commanding the Dimapur-based 3 Corps

According to Myanmar’s constitution Article 41&42, no foreign troops can be deployed within the country’s boundaries for any reason. In a visit to Delhi in October 2016, State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi had also reportedly repeated the concerns to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issue.