ABSTRACT
Chapter 5 explains why Northeast remains a hotbed of geopolitical conflict and the cause of India’s growing national security concerns. It examines the geopolitically driven security factors emanating from the three neighbouring countries – China, Bangladesh, and Myanmar – to understand the implications of geopolitics in Northeast India. It establishes that contested territory is a (direct) source of interstate military conflict between China and India, with prolonged security implications for the region, and that territorial proximity and interactions through porous borders become a(n) (indirect) source of sub-state regional/geopolitical conflict in the form of insurgency or low-intensity conflict and societal conflicts, inviting regional insecurity and its implications in India’s national security.
