Kaladan Waterway India’s strategic stamp in Myanmar. Now work at breakneck speed, beat China
In a significant boost to strategic, diplomatic and economic engagement between India and Myanmar, the waterway section of the ambitious Rs 3,200 crore Kaladan Multimodal Transit Transport Project, KMTTP, is all set to become operational this week. After a trial run of rice shipment to Bangladesh, a shipload of cement from Kolkata to Sittwe port in Myanmar will be the first official cargo after Naypiydaw gave necessary permission for regular commercial operations from the port completed by the Shipping Ministry’s Inland Waterways Authority of India in 2018.
The Kaladan project proposed about two decades ago began with the Detailed Project Report (DPR) prepared by RITES in 2003 and the subsequent signing of the 2008 agreement between India and Myanmar. The project envisaged four important stages – Kolkata to Sittwe waterway, Sittwe to Paletwa inland (River Kaladan) waterway, Paletwa to India-Myanmar border post in Myanmar and finally linking the road to Lawngtlai in Mizoram as part of the project’s
last leg.
India unveiled the Look East Policy under the then government led by P V Narasimha Rao in early 90s with a view to ensure economic development of India’s Northeast and build a bridge between the region and the rest of East Asia. The Look East Policy, India’s outreach towards East Asia and the economic development of the region were interlinked. India’s trade with East and South Asia was no doubt being conducted through Indian Ocean and overland routes like by air. But it was necessary to strengthen land connectivity and integrate the economic development on the Northeast with that of Bangladesh and Myanmar. Such linkages would also increase India’s strategic footprints in East Asia and more importantly in our immediate neighbourhood.
Where India lost time
Soon after Independence, both India and China had a policy of deeper engagement with countries in the immediate neighbourhood and with East and South Asia. While a democratic India had to maintain a balance between regional geopolitics and the global expectations towards support to democracy movement, China had no such compulsions. China has been one of the few countries, and the only major power to have provided unwavering support to successive regimes in Myanmar when the Western world and even the UNSC imposed sanctions on the country.
In its misplaced enthusiasm to superimpose Western democracy among Asian countries and particularly in Myanmar, the US and other EU nations imposed highly restrictive sanctions on Myanmar every time there was a regime change and military takeover of the political power. In addition, there were withholding of EU financial assistance directly going to the government and freezing of all EU assistance that may be seen as legitimising the
military junta. In the present, sanctions on individuals include the Minister for Energy, prominent businessmen who have supported the regime’s repression with arms and dual use goods, and high-ranking officers in the Myanmar armed forces that are closely associated with the regime. China has cleverly taken advantage of these selective sanctions to the best of its advantage.
Primarily, China has three strategic and commercial interests in Myanmar: energy security, border security and access to the Indian Ocean through the Bay of Bengal. China is also Myanmar’s largest buyer of crude and gas reserves. Besides, Beijing is seriously working to exploit Myanmar’s hydro-electric potential. Unlike Nepal, where China’s investments in hydro-electric projects do not help it due to heavy transmission losses, Myanmar provides easy transmission possibilities.
As part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), one of the flagship projects of China-Myanmar cooperation is the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC). CMEC will connect Yunnan province in China to the economic hubs of Mandalay, Yangon New City and Kyaukpyu Special Economic Zone in Myanmar. This makes Myanmar a major access route for China to the Indian Ocean and also an effective strategy for China to overcome its “Malacca Dilemma.”
Don’t rest
Considering China’s aggressive policies in getting a foothold in India’s neighbourhood, the Kaladan is a game changer for India. But much more needs to be done.
India has to hasten the road linkage projects, tackle the local resistance to development not only in the Northeast but also deal with the regime in Myanmar, diplomatically and politically. As a member of BIMSTEC, Myanmar requires a good amount of hand holding, both economically and in building strong democratic institutions. Sanctions will not work. New Delhi supporting West-based sanctions helped China rush in and occupy the strategic spaced vacated by India.
However, New Delhi has of late been concentrating on economic engagement with East and South Asian neighbours. In this engagement, India should use BIMSTEC to the maximum and extend facilities such as digital payments and UPI to member countries. Kaladan is a good beginning for India to regain its lost strategic space, provided it works at a breakneck speed.
New Delhi supporting West-based sanctions helped China rush in and occupy the strategic spaced vacated by India.
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