India, Myanmar considering territorial exchange to resolve border issue
What's the story
India and Myanmar are reportedly considering a territorial exchange to resolve an undemarcated section of their shared border along Manipur. Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal on Tuesday confirmed that discussions were ongoing on certain unsettled sectors, without going into details. Jaiswal said, "There are certain areas on the border which are yet to be settled. Discussions on those sectors are ongoing."
Border details
Proposed exchange area located in Manipur's Chandel district
The proposal was first reported by The Diplomat magazine in July, which cited an "official document" detailing plans to demarcate the boundary between border pillars 65 and 68 by exchanging around 1.4 square miles of territory
The proposed exchange area is located in Manipur's Chandel district, bordering Myanmar's Kabaw Valley in the Sagaing Region.
The magazine said the document, dated May 26, 2026, mentions that the boundary demarcation is expected to be completed in three months.
Security measures
Territorial exchange to expedite border demarcation
The Diplomat reported that the main reason for considering a territorial exchange is to speed up the demarcation of an unresolved stretch of the India-Myanmar border.
The move is aimed at addressing security challenges posed by illegal immigration, drug trafficking, and cross-border insurgent movement.
Reports had suggested that the matter was discussed during Myanmar leader Min Aung Hlaing's recent visit to India. The plan included the installation of auxiliary pillars in the Molcham sector between border pillars 65 and 68.
Border
India announced plans to fence its entire international boundary
In 2024, India announced plans to fence its entire international boundary with Myanmar and scrapped the Free Movement Regime that allowed tribal communities visa-free travel up to 16km across borders.
However, civil war and political instability in Myanmar post-2021 have complicated matters for India, leading to an influx of refugees and internal ethnic tensions in Manipur.
In March this year, Former Chief Minister of Manipur, N Biren Singh said only 43.75km of the 1,643km sanctioned had been completed so far.
Historical context
Unsettled stretches along India-Myanmar border
The current India-Myanmar boundary was defined under a 1967 bilateral agreement but remains unsettled in some areas.
The most sensitive stretches in Manipur include sectors between border pillars 64-68, 75-79, and 88-95.
The Manipur government established a cabinet subcommittee in 2000 to address the border dispute, but it made no recommendations. Another committee constituted in the same year with the purpose to investigate the border territory abutting Kabaw Valley in Myanmar met the same fate, with no decision reached.
Local resistance
Proposed territorial exchange met with resistance in Manipur
The proposed territory exchange has already been met with resistance.
The Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI) warned against ceding any territory without public approval.
It argued that since Manipur's merger with the Indian Union in 1949, portions of its historical territory had already been lost.
India shares a 1,643-km-long international boundary with Myanmar through Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram.
Of this, nearly 171km of the border remains unresolved, mainly in Arunachal Pradesh's Lohit sector and Manipur's Kabaw Valley.