Back-to-back visits add impetus to India-Myanmar ties

The multi-faceted India-Myanmar ties have gained fresh momentum with the two high-level bilateral visits that took place in the last part of August. In his effort to further consolidate the existing friendly relations between the two neighbouring nations, Myanmar's new civilian President U Htin Kyaw visited New Delhi on August 29.During his talks with India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the two sides agreed to take the entire bilateral engagement to a new height and actively cooperate in combating terrorist and insurgent activities in the region.

President Kyaw undertook his first foreign trip after assuming the country's highest office in April 2016 against the backdrop of China's heightened diplomatic efforts to reach out to Myanmar's new democratic dispensation. He had chosen New Delhi as the destination of his maiden foreign visit and it reflected the importance Myanmar attaches to its ties with neighbouring India. The talks on August 29 were also the first top-level engagement between the two countries since the National League for Democracy (NLD) was voted to power in a landslide victory last year.

India's persistent engagement with Myanmar

Earlier, India's External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj visited Nay Pyi Taw on August 22 and held talks with President Kyaw and State Counselor and Foreign Minister Aung San Suu Kyi on wide ranging issues. The talks between the two sides covered various bilateral issues as well as the upcoming Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa (BRICS)-Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) Outreach Summit in India.

Swaraj's visit was part of India's "Act East" policy of strengthening economic cooperation and socio-cultural ties with Southeast Asia. Her visit reaffirmed Modi-led National Democratic Alliance government's commitment to broaden partnership with Myanmar which is important to India for its strategic location and resource potential. The two sides discussed several issues, including bilateral trade, cooperation in transport, health, power, renewable energy, education, social development and security matters. Swaraj was accompanied by Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar. Discussions were reportedly held in a very cordial and friendly atmosphere, reflecting close ties and strong people-to-people links between the two neighbouring countries.

Swaraj's talks with Myanmar's icon of democracy Daw Suu Kyi are crucial as she is the de facto leader of the country's first civilian government after many decades. India has been engaged with Myanmar at different levels since the NLD government was formed on March 30, 2016. In early August, both the countries reviewed the entire gamut of bilateral issues, including high-level visits, security and defence-related subjects, boundary matters and border management, trade and commerce, development cooperation, connectivity, cultural and consular matters.

Such consultations assume significance as these were first institutionalised exchanges between the two countries after the assumption of the new NLD government in Myanmar. The Southeast Asian country figures prominently in India's security calculus. National Security Adviser Ajit Doval had visited Myanmar on June 16, 2016 as Prime Minister Modi's special envoy. India also attaches importance to the commercial ties that it maintains with Myanmar. Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Nirmala Sitharaman led a high-level business delegation to the neighbouring country for the India-Myanmar Business Conclave on May 18-20, 2016.

Significance of Myanmar in "Act East" policy

India considers Myanmar as a gateway for its "Act East" initiative connecting North East with both Southeast and East Asia. New Delhi seeks to up grade connectivity with Myanmar for forging greater economic, political and people-to-people ties between India and Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN). Myanmar holds key to realise the "Act East" policy and development of India's landlocked North Eastern region. The Southeast Asian nation shares a 1643 km-long border with four North Eastern states—Manipur, Nagaland, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh. India's overland trade routes with China and Southeast Asian countries are mainly through Myanmar. In fact, this country acts as a land bridge between India and ASEAN.

The bilateral relations could not flourish before as New Delhi restrained itself from constructive engagement with the successive military juntas and remained sympathetic to the cause of democracy in Myanmar. However, in the process, India lost its clout in the neighbouring country and China has eventually emerged as the dominant bilateral partner in the face of international sanctions imposed by the donors. Since the early 1990's, India's security, strategic and economic interests prompted it to expand relations with Myanmar. India has been competing with China for influence and investment opportunities in Myanmar after its two previous quasi-civilian governments opened up the economy and initiated the process of reconciliation with the ethnic minority groups.

Myanmar also stands to gain from India's "Act East" foreign policy plank in terms of trade, infrastructure development and boosting of age-old socio-cultural ties. Acknowledging this aspect, former President Thein Sein said the Gujarat model of development is very much relevant to Myanmar immediately after Modi's assumption of office in May 2014. During the visit of Swaraj, both the sides agreed that India's "Act East" policy fits well into Myanmar's needs and such areas of mutually beneficial cooperation should be identified in the near future.

Recent expansion of India-Myanmar trade, connectivity and people-to-people ties
Both the countries have made considerable progress on cross-border connectivity, bilateral trade and commerce and people-to-people contacts especially along the borders that had existed for several hundred years. A major development in this regard was the signing of India-Myanmar Border Trade Agreement on January 31, 1994. The pact sought to fromalise the persisting border trade practices. Ever since New Delhi adopted a pragmatic approach towards Myanmar, India has emerged as the fourth largest trading partner and a key investor in infrastructure and oil sectors of the neighbouring country. The trade between India and Myanmar, which stood at $557 million in 2005, is now about to touch $2 billion.

Myanmar is reported to have huge oil and gas reserves. Both the countries need to sustain the current level of engagement to realise the complete potential of economic cooperation. Both Modi and Swaraj reaffirmed India's full support to Myanmar's development endeavours. During Swaraj's one-day visit, the two sides discussed the possibilities of enhancing cooperation in agriculture, especially pulses, where there is a scope of importing large quantity of pulses from Myanmar. New Delhi and Nay Pyi Taw also explored the possibility of increasing cooperation in the power sector. India is currently supplying 3 MW electricity to Myanmar from Moreh-Tamu link which could be further up graded.

During President Kyaw's New Delhi visit, the two sides signed four Memorandums of Understanding to expand cooperation in the arena of connectivity, medicine and renewable energy. Myanmar and India also resolved to deepen ties in several other areas, including agriculture, banking and power. The two agreements signed during Myanmarese president's visit would facilitate the construction of 69 bridges and the Kalewa-Yargi road segment of the India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway project.

Earlier in 2012, New Delhi pledged to release a $ 550 million line of credit to Myanmar for the development of railways, roadways, power transmission lines and oil refineries. Considering the geographical constraints, a number of projects are undertaken to expand connectivity between North East and Southeast Asian countries through Myanmar. The Kaladan Multimodal Project is one such initiative that seeks to connect Indian ports in the eastern coast with Sittwe port of Myanmar and then through riverine transport and by road to Mizoram ensuring an alternative route for transportation of goods to North East. The up gradation of Sittwe port was given priority following the discovery of about 10 trillion cubic feet of gas in two blocks of Shwe field 60 km off shore from the port.

Over the years, India has emerged as one of the major development partners of Myanmar and been consistently engaged in developing the neighbouring country's transport infrastructure. The Ministry of External Affairs constructed a 250 km-long road from the border town of Tamu to Kalemyo via Kalewa at a cost of $ 30 million. The road—popularly called the India-Myanmar Friendship Road, is part of the India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway.

The two countries have opened air and bus routes between Imphal and Mandalay to consolidate the cross-border socio-cultural links. While regular air service between Imphal and Mandalay was launched on November 21, 2014 on the eve of Manipur's famous Sangai Festival, the trial run of the much awaited Imphal-Mandalay bus service was flagged off on December 9, 2015. India enjoys historic ties with the port city of Mandalay. Among the four North Eastern states that share borders with Myanmar, Manipur has the strongest linkages with the Southeast Asian country. Nearly 20,000 Meiteis, Manipur's major ethnic group, are settled in Mandalay Division and the direct bus service will enable them to visit their native land at minimum travel expense.

India's role in strengthening democracy in Myanmar

The process of democratisation initiated in Myanmar over the last few years has been a very positive development. During the recent bilateral talks, the two sides discussed the scope of further strengthening democracy in Myanmar. Reports suggest that both Modi and Swaraj conveyed India's strong support to Myanmar's efforts to democratise the polity. It may be added here that 20 Parliamentarians from Myanmar had undergone training recently at the Bureau of Parliamentary Studies and Training in New Delhi. Myanmar seeks India's assistance to build democratic institutions in the country which was ruled by the armed forces for more than five decades. President Kyaw has recently noted, "India is the country that Myanmar can learn from in terms of what democracy really means".

India's security concerns

Myanmar is also important to India from its security perspective. New Delhi is fully aware that it would be a near impossible task to get rid of militancy in North East without the crucial support of Myanmar where several insurgent outfits espousing the cause of sovereign states for their respective ethnic groups are currently holed up. Cross-border activities by the militant groups from Assam, Manipur and Nagaland remain a key security concern for India. Swaraj's visit took place just three days after the Indian security forces had a fierce encounter in Nagaland with the National Socialist Council of Nagalim (Khaplang) or NSCN (K) militants who were trying to infiltrate into the country from Myanmar.

Describing India as a friendly country, President Kyaw assured the Indian leadership that his government would not allow any anti-India activities in Myanmar. The political leaders of the two neighbouring countries acknowledged that their "security interests are closely aligned" and underscored the need to "remain sensitive to each other's strategic interests and concerns". The two countries also held discussions on maritime security cooperation in the Bay of Bengal.

During the recent high-level talks, both the sides agreed to make efforts to ensure peace and security along the shared border. The NLD government of Myanmar suggested that the issue of cross-border militancy should be addressed and taken forward through cooperation in established bilateral forums. Reports say the government of Myanmar, which is preoccupied with the forthcoming 21st Century Panglong Conference for National Reconciliation, has sought some more time for facilitating the assumption of peace process with the NSCN faction led by its Myanmar-based 75 year-old chairman Shangwang Shanyung Khaplang. The NSCN (K) unilaterally abrogated a 14 year-old ceasefire agreement with the government of India in 2015. The Myanmar government's decision was conveyed to the former underground leader of Mizo National Front and chief minister of Mizoram, Zoramthanga whose mediation was solicited by the Indian government to restart peace talks with Khaplang.

The NSCN (K) has been fighting for a control of Naga-inhabited areas spread over both India and Myanmar. The outfit's leader Khaplang is regarded as the father of many North Eastern militant groups and he holds key to the solution of the region's chronic insurgency problem. India's security establishment believes that if Khaplang rejoins the peace process, the other North Eastern militant groups based in Myanmar would follow suit. Several insurgent outfits, including United Liberation Front of Asom (Independent), National Democratic Front of Bodoland (Sangbojit) and six Meitei outfits of Manipur maintain bases in the western region of Myanmar bordering India—a significant part of which is controlled by Khaplang.

Myanmar's own ethnic insurgency and loss of its territory to numerous armed rebel groups have further complicated India's security scenario. There are many inaccessible and isolated regions in Myanmar where the government troops have little control. Therefore, it is important that the upcoming Panglong Conference finds an amicable solution to the vexed ethnic question ensuring peace and stability in the region. Prime Minster Modi conveyed India's full support to the peace process under the Panlong Conference. The two recent visits are likely to lay a strong foundation for further deepening and broadening of the India-Myanmar ties.