India-Myanmar shipping link is a game-changer
If the Union Government does indeed follow up the new India-Myanmar direct shipping service, launched earlier this month, with similar connections to Vietnam and Thailand as planned, then together it will possibly be delivering one of the biggest boosts to New Delhi's look East policy in years. In the process, New Delhi will also be placing the much-neglected North East at the heart of the process and offering the region its best opportunity at greater economic integration. For example, the India-Myanmar link, which starts in Chennai and then loops through Krishnapatnam, Yangon and Colombo, will significantly improve connectivity to Mizoram through the Sittwe port. The sea route will also prove to be far more cost effective than overland routes that cut through the North-East and then link up to the Moreh-Mandalay-Mae Sot highway. located in the capital of Myanmar's Rakhine State, the Sittwe port is at the mouth of the Kaladan river in the Bay of Bengal. Notably, its upgradation was financed by India as part of the Kaladan Multi-modal Transit Transport Project, an important bilateral initiative that aims to develop transport infrastructure in India's North-East and Myanmar's south west. Based on existing trade levels, feasibility studies for the India-Myanmar shipping service have painted a gloomy picture. But the Shipping Corporation of India is hopeful of sustaining the project in the long term —and rightfully so. Myanmar has only just begun the process of opening up its economy, and there is a lot of scope for strengthening bilateral trade ties.
Beyond commerce, the Government's decision to strengthen its look East policy through sea trade also has an important strategic dimension. First, it is necessary to better secure the North-East, particularly the region that is commonly known as the ‘chicken's neck'. Second, strengthening ties with the South East Asia is India's best bet to counter-balance China's influence in the region. In fact, South East Asia has for long looked towards India for this purpose. But for a variety of reasons, New Delhi, despite all its talk about a pro-active look East policy, has mostly limited itself to South Asia. Hopefully, there will now be a visible change in this regard. For instance, one of the reasons why Myanmar initiated sought to end its isolation from the rest of the world was because it did not want to become a satellite state for China.