New Delhi: Foreign policy issues do not lie within the remit of state governments, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said Friday following reports that two Myanmarese rebel groups signed a merger pact recently in presence of Mizoram Chief Minister Lalduhoma.
Myanmar’s anti-junta groups from Chin state – the Chinland Council (CC) and the Interim Chin National Consultative Council (ICNCC) – signed the merger agreement in Aizawl, according to the reports.
“We have seen some reports on the matter. Our position on the situation in Myanmar is well known,” external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.
“I would also like to reiterate that foreign policy issues do not lie within the remit of state governments,” he said, responding to a question during his weekly media briefing.
There have been mounting concerns in New Delhi over security implications arising out of fighting between Myanmar’s military and rebel forces in areas close to the country’s border with India.
India has been pressing for return of democracy in Myanmar.
Myanmar is one of India’s strategic neighbours and it shares a 1,640-km-long border with a number of northeastern states including militancy-hit Nagaland and Manipur.
In view of the violence and instability in border areas of Myanmar, Union Home Minister Amit Shah in January last year announced a plan to fence the border.
PTI
