Two years of Myanmar coup

Subject : International Relations

Sections: India’s neighbours

Concept :

India and Myanmar relationship officially got underway after the Treaty of Friendship was signed in 1951, after which the foundation for a more meaningful relationship was established during Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s visit in 1987.
India and Myanmar have traditionally had much in common, with cultural, historical, ethnic, and religious ties, in addition to sharing a long geographical land border and maritime boundary in the Bay of Bengal.

Geo-Strategic Location of Myanmar:

Myanmar is geopolitically significant to India as it stands at the center of the India-Southeast Asia geography.
Myanmar is the only Southeast Asian country that shares a land border with northeastern India, stretching some 1,624 kilometers.
The two countries also share a 725-km maritime boundary in the Bay of Bengal.
Irrawady river that flows from north to south through Myanmar (Burma). It is the country’s largest river and most important commercial waterway.

Confluence of Two Foreign Policy Doctrines:

Myanmar is the only country that sits at the intersection of India’s “Neighborhood First” policy and its “Act East” policy.
Myanmar is an essential element in India’s practice of regional diplomacy in the Indo-Pacific and serves as a land bridge to connect South Asia and Southeast Asia.
Myanmar is the member of both Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which is an organization of East Asian nations as well as Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) which bridges South and South-East Asia.

Indian Projects in Myanmar

India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway
A number of infrastructure projects are underway. This includes the Trilateral Highway which will eventually connect India to Thailand through Myanmar.
Kaladan Multimodal Project
The Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project was jointly identified by the India and Myanmar to create a multi-modal mode of transport for shipment of cargo from the eastern seaport of India to Myanmar and to the North-Eastern part of India through Myanmar.
This project connects Sittwe Port in Myanmar to the India-Myanmar border, is expected to contribute to the economic development of the North-Eastern States of India.

It is also an alternate route to India’s North-East bypassing the Siliguri Corridor.
Projects in Rakhine State
India had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Myanmar for improving the socio economic condition of the people belonging to Myanmar’s Rakhine state under the aegis of Rakhine State Development Programme.