ABSTRACT
The political geography that post-independence Myanmar inherited from the British presented some formidable challenges. Ethnic and communist insurgents developed large-scale underground networks across the borders with China, Thailand, India, Laos and even Bangladesh where they found sympathy, if not open political support, for their struggle against Myanmar's central authorities and other rival ethnic armed groups. Conflict, asymmetric threat perceptions, political instability and anti-state insurgency in the border areas have heavily factored in Myanmar's neighbourhood policy orientation since its independence and will continue to do so well into the 2010s. It focuses on the two biggest neighbours Myanmar has had to deal with since independence - China and India. Thailand, the country's third largest neighbour, has also developed uneasy interactions with the Myanmar authorities, particularly over the past two decades.
