| Bangladesh–Myanmar border |
The Bangladesh–Myanmar border is the international border between the countries of Bangladesh and Myanmar (formerly Burma).[1] The border stretches 168.4order=flipNaNorder=flip, from the tripoint with India in the north, to the Bay of Bengal in the south.[2] About 130order=flipNaNorder=flip of the border is fenced, with the government of Myanmar announcing in 2017 that it was planning to fence off the rest of the border.[3] [4]
The border starts in the north at the tripoint with Mizoram, India. It then proceeds southwards overland, before turning west at a point west of Paletwa. The border then proceeds to the west, north-west and then south in a broad arc before reaching the Naf River. The border then follows this wide river southwards out to the Bay of Bengal.
Historically the border region has been a contested area located at the edge of the various Indian and Burmese empires.[5] Britain had begun conquering India (including modern Bangladesh) in the 17th century, and gradually took control of most of the country, forming British India. From the 1820s-80s Britain also gradually conquered Burma; by the Treaty of Yandabo in 1826 which ended the First Anglo-Burmese War Burma recognised British control over Assam, Manipur, Rakhine (Arakan), and the Taninthayi coast, thereby delimiting much of the Indo-Burmese modern boundary in general terms.[6] [7] Large swathes of Burma were annexed following the Second Anglo-Burmese War of 1852–53.[5] [8] The remainder of Burma was conquered in 1885 and incorporated into British India.[9] [10] [11] Further Indo-Burmese boundary modifications were made in 1894, 1896, 1901, 1921 and 1922.[5]
In 1937 Burma was split off from India and became a separate colony.[12] In 1947 India gained independence, however the country was split into two states (India and Pakistan), with the southernmost section of the Burma-India border becoming that between Burma and East Pakistan (modern Bangladesh).[5] Burma gained independence in 1948.[5] In 1971 Bangladesh gained independence from Pakistan after a war and thereby inherited the border with Burma/Myanmar.[13]
Since then the boundary area has often been unstable owing to armed conflicts such as the Chittagong Hill Tracts conflict (1977–1997) in south-east Bangladesh and the Rohingya conflict in Myanmar's Rakhine state. The latter has been ongoing for decades, yet has reached a particular intensity since 2016. The latest round of fighting has resulted in Rohingya refugees crossing the border from Myanmar into Bangladesh.[14] Bangladesh and Myanmar have agreed to close their borders during sudden influxes of Rohingya refugees.[15] On Myanmar's side of the border in Maungdaw District, 80 percent of the population is Rohingya.[16]
In 2014 members of the Myanmar Border Police opened fire on a Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB) patrol, killing one.[17] [18] In 2015 an armed clash occurred on the border between the Rohingya Arakan Army and the BGB.[19] There have also been a number of incidents down the years involving fishermen on the Naf river allegedly illegally crossing the boundary.[20] Myanmar bombed the Bangladesh border after the Arakan Army seized a Myanmar police outpost in Maungdaw town in Rakhine State, according to Prothomalo news.[21]
At present the border is closed to foreign nationals.[22] In 2024, during battle between Arakan Army and BGP, at least 264 Myanmar military personnel sought refuge in Bangladesh, where they were disarmed and sheltered by the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB).[23]