Yes, no, maybe: Was the Indian Army's 9 June counter-insurgency operation actually carried out in Myanmar?

“We will not tolerate any strikes on India or Indians. We’ll always wield the initiative on either being friendly or engaging in aggressive action. We will strike at a place and at a time of our choosing,” said Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Minister of State for Information and Broadcast, a day after Indian troops eliminated over 20 suspected militants in a bold counter-insurgency operation. Now while the ‘time’ part has been established as being 9 June, the ‘place’ aspect is less clear: Did the operation occur along the India-Myanmar border or within Burmese territory? [caption id=“attachment_2435814” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters[/caption] An unfortunate display of bravado and what appears to be a slight misinterpretation of cartography has come back to haunt Rathore and sadly, could take some of the sheen of the Indian Army’s heroics. It may be recalled that eight soldiers of the 21 Para were awarded gallantry citations for the operation on the eve of Independence Day. The Economic Times reports that the ‘cross-border strike’ that dismantled insurgent camps never actually took place in Myanmar, adding that the gallantry award citations ‘make no mention’ of Myanmar and state that ‘the operation took place in Manipur and Nagaland’. Sure enough, the Army issued a statement immediately after the 9 June operation saying that “the Indian Army engaged two separate groups of insurgents along the Indo-Myanmar border at two locations, along the Nagaland and Manipur borders” (emphasis added). According to the report, the gallantry citations for the soldiers provide details of the operation, but blur out any reference to the event having occurred in Myanmar. The report points out that this is unusual since gallantry citations have hitherto been made public, even regarding operations conducted overseas. The Army on its part, has maintained a dignified silence about the confusion surrounding the location of the operation, save for its spokesperson succinctly telling The Economic Times to “(p)lease refer to the statement issued on 9 June”. In the aftermath of the operation, Rathore’s statements drew the annoyance of government officials in Myanmar and back home in India. DNA had quoted Myanmar President’s Office director U Zaw Htay at the time, as referring to the raid that occurred “on Indian territory, near the border with Myanmar”. Meanwhile, the report quoted an Indian government source as saying, “We found his statement alarming when the ministries of defence, home and external affairs had decided not to formally confirm Indian forces crossing over into Myanmar. Such operations have been done in the past but deniability has always been maintained.” So is this a case of plausible deniability being squandered away or a Brian Williams-esque moment of conflation from the minister of state? To refresh your memory, here’s an artist’s impression of Conflate-gate by Taiwan’s Next Media Animation: