New Delhi: India has finally set the ball rolling in the long-pending $500-million Kaladan Multimodal Transit Transport (KMTT) by inaugurating the Sittwe Port in Myanmar as New Delhi firms up its relationship with the military leaders there. While India had been engaging with the ‘junta’ ever since the military leaders there staged a coup, overthrowing the democratically elected government in February 2021, this is the first time a Union minister has travelled to Myanmar and held talks with them.
"The operationalisation of Sittwe Port would enhance bilateral and regional trade as well as contribute to the local economy of Rakhine State of Myanmar. The greater connectivity provided by the Port will lead to employment opportunities and enhanced growth prospects in the region,” a statement issued by the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways said on Tuesday.
The port was jointly inaugurated Tuesday by Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal and Myanmar’s Minister for Transport & Communications Admiral Tin Aung San.
"Marking a historic moment, I will be inaugurating the Sittwe Port in Myanmar tomorrow, part of the Kaladan Multimodal Transit Transport project.Looking forward to a new day when we break new ground unlocking the #NorthEast for #SEAsia,” Sonowal said in a tweet Monday.
The Sittwe Port will directly connect Kolkata with Myanmar over the Kaladan river, covering a distance of 539 km. The port is one of the pillars of the KMTT, work on which has been going on since April 2008.
Inaugurating the project in Myanmar, Sonowal spoke about India’s “longstanding commitment towards the development and prosperity of people of Myanmar” through such projects, the statement said.
The second phase of the project also entails highway / road transport from Mizoram to Paletwa (Myanmar), thereafter from Paletwa to Sittwe (Myanmar) by Inland Water Transport (IWT) and from Sittwe to any port in India by maritime shipping.
“Once fully operationalized the waterway and road components of KMTTP will link the East coast of India to the North-eastern states through the Sittwe port,” the shipping ministry said.
Meanwhile, in a parallel development, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held a meeting with Noeleen Heyzer, UN Secretary General's Special Envoy on Myanmar, and discussed the situation in that country even as India continues to face the challenge of Rohingya refugees, who are settled in this country as well as in Bangladesh in massive numbers.
Engagement With Myanmar Is Key
The recent development comes in the wake of the two back-to-back Track 1.5 dialogue with the military generals of Myanmar along with the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The first meeting was held in Bangkok, Thailand, in March and the second round of talks were held in New Delhi last month.
In these meetings, India has called for the reduction of violence by all sides thereby creating political space for dialogue between all parties.
The junta, led by Min Aung Hlaing, Commander-in-Chief of Myanmar Defence Services, is now planning to hold elections in November even as Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) has been reportedly dissolved — the only political party there that stood for democracy.
Experts believe India has to engage with Myanmar not only to take forward its ‘Look East’ and ‘Neighbourhood First’ foreign policies, but also to bring stability and economic development in north-eastern India.
Rajiv Bhatia, veteran diplomat and India's former Ambassador to Myanmar, said: “Sittwe Port inauguration is an important step in the right direction. The Kaladan project has been pending for a long time. Today, one of the major projects under Kaladan stands completed. Now India will be able to export goods to Rakhine State.”
Bhatia, also Distinguished Fellow of Mumbai-based Gateway House, said India has no choice but to deal with the government of the day if projects continue to remain incomplete. "India has been having a business-like relationship with the military leaders of Myanmar for the past two years since the coup happened,” he said.
"Instability in Myanmar will cause instability in India’s northeast… So such operationalising such projects are important for economic development of the entire region," said the former envoy who has also authored the book, India-Myanmar Relations: Changing contours.
Prabir De, professor, ASEAN-India Centre, Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS), said Sittwe port operationalisation is a “timely move”.
“Not only will trade between India and Myanmar grow, this port linkage will also scale up strategic ties… Completion of Kaladan project thus holds high promise,” De said, adding that once the road from Paletwa (Myanmar) and Zorinpuri (India) is ready, transportation between eastern part of India and northeast India will be faster.
De said India may also develop a special economic zone in that region.
China, which initially kept its distance from the junta, has also begun doing business with Naypyidaw. Beijing gifted a submarine to Myanmar in December 2021, and it has also expedited the development of China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC).
Ever since the coup has taken place in Myanmar, India’s north-eastern states, particularly Manipur and Mizoram, has been witnessing a massive influx of refugees owing to unprecedented violence by the military rules of Myanmar meted out on its own population.
Manipur, of late, has been witnessing violent flare-ups due to rise in ethnic tensions in that state in which over 50 people have been reportedly killed and more than 20,000 displaced.