Myanmar
- crucial for Act East & NFP
- 1643km shared border, historical buddhist ties, strategic projects eg. kaladan, IMT Highway, Myanmar is india’s land bridge to ASEAN
Areas of cooperation
- development aid: $1.75B grants; projects - Kaladan Multimodal Transit Transport Project, Trilateral Highway, Ananda Temple restoration
- Connectivity: Kaladan, IMT highway, MIST digital cable, ICP at Tamu Moreh
- Trade: $1.74B bilateral trade
- Cultural ties: buddhism; Bagan’s Ananda Temple Restoration
- Security: IMBAX, IMCOR, Operation Sunrise against NE insurgents
- Maritime: Sittwe port under sagar vision
- disaster relief: cycone Mora 2017, Nargis 2008
Significance for India
| Dimension | Details |
|---|
| strategic location | Key link to SEA, BoB access |
| China containment | counters China’s Kyaukphyu Port & BRI |
| NE Security | combat CBT |
| Act East policy | Myanmar central to India’s regional outreach |
| cultural connect | shared buddhist civilizational heritage |
Challenges
| Issue | Details |
|---|
| 2021 military coup | undermines democratic engagement; complicates diplomacy |
| Low Trade | only ~$2B Trade: china leads by wide margin |
| Rohingya crisis | internal security challenges for india |
| Insurgency shelter | NE groups operate from Myanmar |
| Porus border, FMR misuse | smuggling, arms trafficking, infliltration |
| Project delays | Kaladan, IMT |
| Chinese influence | |
Chinese influence
| Sector | China’s role |
|---|
| Trade | Myanmar’s top partner w/ $12B trade in 2019 |
| Connectivity | CMEC & OBOR projects connect Yunnan to Kyaukphyu |
| Energy | $4.5 oil/gas pipeline to Yunnan |
| Defence | Major arms supplier |
| $1.3B in arms 2010-19 |
| Investment | $21B FDI; Deep Sea port at Kyaukphyu |
India’s concerns
- debt trap diplomacy
- strategic encirclement: Kyaukphyu + Gwadar
- NER security from china backed insurgents
- ASEAN weakening
FMR
- started 1968 40Km
- 10km by 2025
- hill tribes w/ valid border passes can stay upto 2 Weeks
- misuse by insurgents, traffickers, smugglers
Way forward
- sensitive rohingya policy: balance regional security w/ humanitarian values
- cultural diplomacy: boost buddhism tourist, civilizational outreach
- joint security measurse eg. Op Sunrise, intelligence sharing
- border mgmt: digitize border posts, regulate FMR usage
- Fast track projects: complete Kaladan, IMT
- regional cooperation: ASEAN, BIMSTEC to counter chinese dominance
- Act East reinforcement