Dibya Shikha
Research Intern, IReS, IPCS
In the recently concluded Director General-level
conference between Bangladesh and Myanmar in
Naypyidaw, although both countries resolved to
maintain peace and tranquility on the border – after
exchanging gunfire along the border – many questions
still remain to be addressed.
Why did these clashes begin, and what aggravated them
further? Were they just isolated border tiffs or a
calculated risk by Myanmar? What are the potential
larger implications of the recent scuffle for the bilateral?
What prompted the border clash?
Both the governments have provided differing accounts
of the reasons for the clashes. Dhaka claimed that the
Myanmar Border Guard Police (BGP) killed one soldier of
the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) in an ambush on 28
May. Dhaka also claims that later, the BGP once again
began a ‘unprovoked attack’ when negotiations
regarding returning of the body of the slain trooper was
underway – triggering fresh gunfight along the border.
Conversely, Myanmar accused that clashes along the
border were started by Bangladesh when armed
members of the Rohingya Solidarity Organisation (RSO)
– founded in 1980 for protecting the rights of the
Rohingya people in Myanmar – allegedly operating from
Bangladeshi territory, tried to enter Myanmar.
Naypyidaw explained that the BGP fired on two men
because they were wearing yellow camouflage unlike the
Guards’ official uniform. These clashes occurred at a
time when there already were tensions along the border
following the May 17 incident where members of the
BGP were allegedly attacked by members of the RSO.
Myanmar stated that it would not tolerate any violation
of its sovereignty and would make every attempt to
prevent illegal border crossing from Bangladesh.
Recent violence on the border is indicative of growing
lawlessness in the region. The Bangladesh-Myanmar
border is known for criminal activities, including human
trafficking, arms and drugs smuggling, and robbery.
Additionally, the existence of improvised explosive
devices in the border areas also created a trust deficit
between the two neighbours. Border guards from both
sides have been accused of being deeply entrenched in
corrupt activities and exploitation of people living in the
bordering areas, which frequently results in minor border
tiffs; but sometimes taking form of a larger standoff.
Isolated Incident or a Calculated Risk?
The Bangladesh-Myanmar border has been volatile,
porous and problematic since the British colonial era.
Waves of ethnic violence two years ago in the Rakhine
region have left this area segregated on religious lines
which further aggravates the border tension. Myanmar
created this border crisis with Bangladesh to gain
leverage in the power struggle and divert international
community’s attention from its domestic political
developments.
It cannot be a sheer coincidence that the border crisis
started the same day when the draft of four religious
conversion bills were published in Myanmar’s
newspapers – that require getting permission from local
authorities before converting to other religions – and
resumption of Myanmar’s parliamentary session. These
proposed bills were severely criticised by civil society
organisations as undemocratic and discriminatory.
Hence, border skirmishes were an attempt by the
Myanmar government to galvanise people’s support for
the proposed legislation by dividing them on religious
lines.
The border crisis was not a random incident. Prior to
every election, tensions along the 270-kilometer border
with Bangladesh have been escalated by the
Myanmarese government. In 2009, a similar situation
was created along the border by Myanmar via fencing
and reinforcement of the border in the run up to the
2010 elections. Now, the border issue has come up
again in the name of harbouring of the RSO by
Bangladesh, for putting the BGP in a positive light to
gain brownie points in the 2015 elections in Myanmar.
Moreover, after the latest census in Myanmar, where the
Rohingya people were stripped off their identity and
recognised as ’Bengalis’ illegally migrated from
Bangladesh, the initiation of the border gunfight was
another effort by Myanmar to negate its responsibility
towards the Rohingyas and put the ball in Bangladesh’s
court for finding a solution to illegal migration.
Larger Implications on the Bilateral
Dhaka and Naypyidaw asserted that the recent clashes
are not indications of larger trends but are just isolated
incidents due to misunderstandings on the border. Both
countries officially stated that border incidents would
not damage diplomatic relations. Myanmar has
displayed a friendly gesture for improving ties with
Bangladesh by returning 30 Bangladeshis arrested for
illegally crossing the border.
Both sides agreed to set up a border liaison office for
curbing cross-border crimes and to educate people
residing in border areas about the demarcation. Both
countries also declared that they will start a security
dialogue to discuss and resolve the problems of the
border areas. Thus, Dhaka and Naypyidaw governments
are in no mood to further stretch the hostility on their
shared frontier.
Besides, the neighbouring countries’ bone of contention
is problem of insurgent groups such as the RSO that
allegedly operate from border areas in Bangladesh.
Though Dhaka bluntly rejected the existence of the RSO
or any rebellious groups in Bangladesh, Myanmar’s
question that if not the RSO then who is ambushing and
attacking the BGP from BangladeshI territory? Hence,
both countries have to engage in constructive dialogue
for reaching a solution for this issue.
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