ABSTRACT
Both China and India have distinct and profound ties with the country of Myanmar. The Indian relationship with Myanmar is much more cultural, religious, and on the societal level, while the Chinese tie with Myanmar is more about contemporary political and economic interactions. China and India are both intertwined in Myanmar politically and economically and share similar security concerns along their borders. However, the trilateral relationship still heavily focuses on how one bilateral relationship influences the strategic thinking of the other. Given India's status as the largest democracy, the domestic politics of Myanmar inevitably influence Indian opinion and policy. Myanmar is where India's Act East Policy and China's China–Myanmar Economic Corridor meet. But the large disparity between the level of Chinese and Indian engagement is striking, suggesting that India is unlikely to emerge as a comparable economic partner of Myanmar for the foreseeable future. Myanmar's preference by default is to pursue its traditional neutralism and non-alignment foreign policy between China and India. But its options could be limited, given its own political reality and the available resources on the table. As the geopolitics in the region and the domestic politics of Myanmar evolve, it remains to be seen whether a genuine China–India–Myanmar triangle is going to be in play.
