The Formation of Burma's Land Borders Under British Colonialism

Abstract

This article examines the objectives, methods, and consequences of the formation of Burma’s
land boundaries with India, China, Thailand, and Laos during the period 1824-1948. The process was
carried out through treaties, conventions, bilateral negotiations, and on-the-ground demarcation and
boundary-marking, resulting in the creation of a fixed territorial framework, most of which has been
preserved to the present day. However, the technocratic approach adopted by the British colonial
administration overlooked the settlement and migration histories of numerous ethnic communities, leading
to the partition of their traditional living spaces and becoming a deep-rooted source of the tensions and
disputes that persist until today.