Myanmar’s New President Makes First Foreign Visit to India as Both Eyes China
Min Aung Hlaing, Myanmar’s former military chief who formally became the country’s president less than two months ago, arrived in India on Saturday for a five-day official visit — his first foreign trip since assuming the civilian role. He will hold talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the trip, which analysts say is driven by India’s desire to reduce Beijing’s grip on its eastern neighbour and secure access to Myanmar’s critical mineral deposits. The Kathmandu Post
The visit spans from May 30 to June 2 and includes stops in Bodh Gaya, Delhi, and Mumbai, with business forums and cultural engagements on the itinerary, according to India’s Ministry of External Affairs. New Kerala
Indian foreign ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal told reporters on Friday: “All issues that form part of the gamut of relations between Myanmar and India will come up for discussion.” The Kathmandu Post
India has made clear what it wants from the engagement. Prime Minister Modi is expected to focus on border security and the question of accessing Myanmar’s rare earth deposits when talks open in Delhi. Myanmar’s internal conflict has driven an increase in insurgency-related activity, including arms smuggling and drug trafficking, along the borders of Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh. The war has also stalled two major Indian infrastructure projects. The Kaladan Multimodal Transit Transport Project, intended to connect India’s eastern seaboard with Mizoram through Sittwe Port in Myanmar, and the India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway, designed to link India’s northeast to Southeast Asia by road, are both central to New Delhi’s Act East policy and have been disrupted by the conflict. StratNews Global + 2
The rare earths dimension adds a strategic layer to the talks. Kachin State, which borders China, is rich in rare earth elements of strategic importance to key manufacturing sectors. India has been working to obtain mineral samples from conflict zones with the assistance of at least one powerful rebel group, Reuters has reported. StratNews GlobalYahoo!
Analysts describe the visit as a calculated move by both sides. “He is seeking more and more regional and international respectability post-election,” said Gautam Mukhopadhaya, a former Indian ambassador to Myanmar. “After changing into civilian clothes as president, Min Aung Hlaing is looking to boost diplomatic engagement across the region,” said Richard Horsey, senior Myanmar adviser at Crisis Group. “He expects more normal ties with ASEAN. He is also likely to visit Beijing soon to meet Xi Jinping. India is Myanmar’s other key neighbour,” Horsey said. Gulf Digital NewsThe Kathmandu Post
The choice of India over Beijing for his first foreign visit is seen as deliberate. Although long backed by Beijing, which holds a range of investments in Myanmar, Min Aung Hlaing’s decision to travel to India first would in part be to counter China’s deep influence, analysts said. For India, the visit is an opportunity to dilute China’s outsized influence on Myanmar while bolstering security along its northeastern borders, analysts said. Gulf Digital NewsYahoo!
The visit carries political risks for New Delhi. For many Western governments, Min Aung Hlaing remains a controversial figure: the former military chief seized power in a 2021 coup, presided over a brutal civil conflict, and now leads a government whose elections have been widely questioned by opposition groups and international critics. Yet India, the world’s largest democracy, has chosen to become the first country to host him in his new role. Myanmar’s National Unity Government, comprising members of the former civilian government, has urged India not to confer political legitimacy on Min Aung Hlaing. ThePrintStratNews Global
That appeal has not altered New Delhi’s calculus. India is well aware that much of Myanmar remains outside Min Aung Hlaing’s control, but sees the need to maintain engagement with the military government and ensure some balance vis-à-vis China, according to analysts. StratNews Global
Regional and Global Impact
Myanmar’s military has recently stepped up offensives in strategic border regions, including Chin State bordering India, as well as Kachin and Karen areas linked to rare earth resources and trade routes, following the appointment of Ye Win Oo as the new military chief after Min Aung Hlaing moved into the presidency, Reuters reported. Those offensives underscore the gap between the diplomatic symbolism of the New Delhi visit and the ground reality of a country still at war with itself. PRESS Insider
For ASEAN, the visit signals a gradual rehabilitation of Myanmar’s military government within regional diplomacy — a process the bloc has resisted since barring Myanmar’s generals from its summits after the 2021 coup. A devastating earthquake last year gave Min Aung Hlaing a diplomatic opening when he made a rare visit to a regional summit in Bangkok, which he is seeking to build on. The Kathmandu Post
Background
Min Aung Hlaing was elected president on April 3, 2026 by a parliament dominated by military allies, securing 429 of 584 votes against fellow general Nyo Saw. He was sworn into office on April 10, 2026. The election, held in phases in December 2025 and January 2026, excluded the National League for Democracy, which had won 82 percent of contested seats in 2020, along with parties holding more than 90 percent of seats from that election. Critics described the process as a sham. In 2024, a prosecutor at the International Criminal Court filed an arrest warrant for Min Aung Hlaing for his role in the 2017 genocide against the Rohingya. The five-year civil war that followed the 2021 coup has left large parts of the country under the control of armed resistance groups, limiting the military government’s ability to deliver on any commitments it makes to foreign partners. Daily Sabah + 2
What Happens Next
Min Aung Hlaing is scheduled to remain in India until June 2, with meetings in Delhi and Mumbai following his stop in Bodh Gaya. Horsey said Min Aung Hlaing is likely to visit Beijing soon after the India trip to meet President Xi Jinping. The outcome of the Modi talks — particularly on border security arrangements and rare earth access — will determine whether the visit produces operational agreements or remains largely symbolic. India’s Ministry of External Affairs has not disclosed whether a joint statement is planned. Myanmar’s presidential office declined to comment on the visit before it began, Reuters reported. The Kathmandu Post
