Myanmar’s new military chief General Ye Win Oo held talks with Indian Navy Chief Admiral Dinesh Kumar Tripathi on Monday, marking his first meeting with a foreign military leader since assuming the post on March 30.
According to regime media, the two sides discussed joint military exercises, cooperation to combat armed groups operating along the border, and maritime trade. They also explored strengthening bilateral military ties through training programs and cultural and sports exchanges.
The meeting came as the Myanmar military continued heavy aerial assaults on resistance strongholds, including Chin State and Sagaing Region, which border India. The regime retook Falam in Chin State with heavy air support in late April, and recaptured Mawlu in northern Sagaing on Tuesday one day after the Naypyitaw meeting.
Armed Indian separatist groups have been operating along the border in Sagaing Region. In July last year, Indian forces carried out drone strikes inside Myanmar territory against United Liberation Front of Asom-Independent (ULFA-I) bases in Nanyun and Lahe townships. The ULFA-I has waged a decades-long armed struggle for an independent state of Assam in northeast India.
In March, Indian authorities reportedly arrested six Ukrainians and an American on suspicion of illegally crossing into Myanmar to train armed militia groups.
Admiral Tripathi’s visit also coincided with the arrival in Yangon of two Indian naval vessels carrying more than 500 officers and sailors on a goodwill mission.
General Ye Win Oo was joined at the meeting by chief of the general staff (army, navy and air) Lt‑Gen Ko Ko Oo, who previously commanded operations in Chin and Sagaing as head of Bureau of Special Operations 1. In September 2025, Ko Ko Oo led a delegation to India, meeting Eastern Command chief Lt‑Gen Ram Chander Tiwari in Kolkata as part of the 7th Army‑to‑Army Staff Talks. Discussions then focused on enhancing defence cooperation, digital training, and technology collaboration.
India, Myanmar’s democratic neighbor, has maintained engagement with the Naypyitaw regime during the five years since the 2021 coup and remains one of the few countries supplying its military with arms. New Delhi has also helped repatriate Myanmar soldiers who fled into India during resistance offensives.
New Delhi supported the junta’s sham December-January elections, which allowed junta chief Min Aung Hlaing to install himself as president. Analysts say India’s outreach is aimed at countering China’s growing influence in Myanmar. In August last year, Min Aung Hlaing met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in China, where the two reportedly agreed to deepen ties in trade, energy, and security, including cooperation in rare earth mining.
Admiral Tripathi’s four-day visit was framed by the Indian Navy as part of its “Neighbourhood First,” “Act East,” and MAHASAGAR policies, which emphasize maritime security and regional stability in the Indian Ocean Region.
The two navies maintain regular defense engagement through the framework of the India-Myanmar Naval Exercise (IMNEX), Indo-Myanmar Coordinated Patrol (IMCOR) and hydrography surveys, as well as port visits.
Defence cooperation is anchored in agreements such as the 2017 MoU on maritime security and the 2019 defence pact, according to India media.
India shares a 1,643-km land border with Myanmar running along the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram, and a maritime boundary in the Bay of Bengal.
