Date: February 28, 2013
Myanmar is an important neighbour of India as both countries share extensive land border and a maritime boundary in the Bay of Bengal. During the long spell of military rule in Myanmar, India followed a policy of disengagement. However, India eased upon this and closed in somewhat after initiating the “Look-East” policy in 1991. The recent democratisation process in Myanmar has further prepared the ground for India to be more proactive in her Myanmar Policy.
The Defence Minister of India Shri AK Antony visited Naypyidaw along with the Defence Secretary, the Eastern Army Commander and the Vice Chief of Naval Staff on January 21-22, 2013. During the visit, Antony highlighted upon the importance of enhancing bilateral ties with Naypyidaw in all the fields, especially defence. He underlined that the visit of all three Service Chiefs of India to Myanmar in the last eighteen months was reflective of Indian government wishes to strengthen ties with Myanmar. While interacting with the delegation, the President of Myanmar Thien Sein assured that Myanmar will not allow its territory to be used by anti-India insurgent groups. He also welcomed the ongoing cooperation between the armed forces of both the countries and anticipated an enhanced interaction between the two navies and the air forces.
Prior to Antony’s visit, several high level bilateral exchanges had taken place in the recent past. In October 2011, the President of Myanmar visited New Delhi and was followed by a return visit in May 2012 by the Indian Prime Minister. The pro-democracy activist and the leader of the opposition Ms.Aung San Suu Kyi visited India in November 2012 and the External Affairs Minister of India; Shri SalmanKhurshid visited Myanmar in December 2012 furthering official engagement. The frequency of bilateral interactions between New Delhi and Naypyidaw is noteworthy and has the potential of further elevating the India-Myanmar relationship to a new level.
At present, both New Delhi and Naypyidaw are engaged at regional and sub-regional contexts onMekong-Ganga Co-operation (MGC), Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC). Consequently, in August 2008 Myanmar was accorded the ‘Observer Status’ in the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) with India’s support and is now looking forward to be included as a permanent member of SAARC.
Myanmar’s close economic and military relations with Beijing are a cause of concern for New Delhi. This is mainly because China has been actively engaged in Myanmar to build up port and naval facilities inHanggi, the Coco Islands, Akyab and Mergui all of which increase its footprint in the Indian Ocean. Indian media had been particularly concerned about a rumoured intelligence listening post on the Coco islands, only 30 nautical miles away from the Andaman Islands – which are much closer to Myanmar’s mainland than to the east coast of mainland India. Myanmar is the largest neighbour touching India’s east and acts as a buffer zone between its North-Eastern region and the Chinese provinces.
Myanmar also holds an important geostrategic position in the Asia-Pacific region and provides a strategic link to the East and South-East Asian countries. Therefore, further improvement of relations with Myanmar has become desirable requirement not just for India, but for the US as well. Recently, US President Barack Obama visited Naypyidaw, reflecting the importance attached to Myanmar as a potential strategic partner in his Asia-Pacific calculus that aims towards Rebalancing Asia. China, on the other hand believes that the US policy is an attempt to curb Beijing’s regional influence. In Washington’sRebalancing Asia policy, India holds a significant place as the US President himself saying India as “Pivot of Asia”. Therefore, the US is also urging India to engage more proactively with Myanmar. However, it is not US pressure; but a more consensual approach of building a lasting friendship based on bilateral trust that is driving New Delhi at this juncture. India has also recognised Myanmar as a crucial link between India and China which clearly reflects India’s desire to increase its profile in Myanmar withoutjeopardising its bilateral ties with China.
For maintaining peace in North-East, it is in India’s security interest to keep the momentum going in the right direction with Myanmar, since most of the active insurgent groups in this region are using the bordering areas as their safe havens. Although there have been some joint counter insurgency efforts between the two armies along the border, these needs to be intensified on a regular basis.
India looks at the connectivity through Myanmar as being crucial for its “Look East” policy and also for the development of stronger ties with the ASEAN countries as an extended neighbourhood. At present, both India and Myanmar are jointly working on quite a few projects, namely, the up-gradation and resurfacing of the 160 km long Tamu-Kalewa-Kalemyo road, construction and up-gradation of the Rhi-Tiddim Road in Myanmar, etc. India is also implementing the Kaladan multimodal transport project that involves upgrading the Sittwe port in Myanmar and constructing a highway to connect the town ofPaletwa in Chin state to the border state in Mizoram. This flagship project, expected to be completed by 2015 will revitalize the economy of that area and link it with important commercial and shipping arteries. The Chief Secretary of the Manipur government has also announced the long-awaited luxury bus service between Imphal and Mandalay, the first over link between India and Myanmar. This connectivity holds the potential to integrate India’s North-East with the broader ASEAN’s inter-connectivity efforts with substantial benefits for both, India and Myanmar. Furthermore, Myanmar is extremely rich in natural resources, notably oil and gas and closer relations with Myanmar would facilitate India’s energy requirements too.
Recently, the Lok Sabha Speaker Smt. Meira Kumar led the first-ever visit of an Indian parliamentary delegation to Myanmar from 12-15 February, 2013. While interacting with the Indian parliamentary delegation, the President of Myanmar Thien Sein hoped that present visit of Indian Parliamentary delegation will not only contribute to strengthen relations between the two Parliaments but also between the two countries. Smt. Kumar also alluded the training availed of by the 30 MPs of Myanmar and 30 Myanmar Parliamentary staff in India. The present pace and growing momentum in India-Myanmar relations indicates that the bilateral ties are indeed poised to flourish in the near future.
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