Indian officials say China is assisting Indian rebel groups that have stepped up attacks on its border with Myanmar in recent months, opening another front in the conflict between two nations already engaged in a deadly stand-off in the Himalayas, according to an AP report.

Armed groups in Myanmar – including the United Wa State Army and the Arakan Army, which was designated a terrorist organisation this year – are acting as Beijing’s proxies by supplying weapons and providing hideouts to insurgent groups in India’s northeastern states, according to Indian officials with knowledge of the situation, who asked not to be identified because of rules for speaking with the media.