Ever visited the easternmost Indian state of Manipur? If so, you must have surely noticed how the state has engaged in trade and economic cooperation with neighbouring Myanmar. Of course, the economic relation of Manipur with Myanmar is just a local practice. An international border town called Moreh—around four-hour-drive from Imphal—on India’s side and Tamu on the other side in Myanmar operate as transaction point of goods and services to both sides.

In a recent seminar, ‘Spotlight on Neighbours: Myanmar’s Recent Development’ held in New Delhi, the key speaker Dr Udai Bhanu Singh of Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses stated that socio-political situation in Myanmar has developed in the last few years after the change of prime minister as well as the top leadership being stable in the country. The speaker further mentioned that Myanmar is strategically important to India because of its ideal location at the tri-junction of East Asia, South Asia, and South-East Asia.

Apart from trade and economic relations, India needs to maintain cordial relations with Myanmar in other aspects, too. Being the second largest of India’s neighbours and largest on the eastern plank, Myanmar provides the eastern littoral of the Bay of Bengal. In fact, an unfriendly Myanmar hosting foreign naval presence would pose a threat to Indian security. In this respect, Dr Singh expressed that India’s ‘Look East Policy’ is the main triggering force for improving the bilateral relations between the two countries.

Bilateral Trade

It is true that Myanmar is India’s gateway to ASEAN as it is the only country of this grouping, which has a land and maritime boundary with India. With India becoming a summit level partner of ASEAN and a member of the East Asia Summit, improved relations with Myanmar will be beneficial in many respects. Besides that Myanmar and India are members of some sub-regional groupings such as the BIMSTEC and the Mekong Ganga Cooperation. Dr Singh stated that China wants to use Myanmar as an alternative trade route and over the last few years China has raised its economic profile in South East Asia, particularly in Myanmar, despite the sanctions imposed by the west. In this context India should not be left behind especially in view of various resources available in Myanmar and much needed by India.

In the last couple of decade bilateral trade between the two neighbouring countries has expanded significantly from US$12.4 million in 1980-81 to US$425 million in 2004-05. India’s imports from Myanmar are primarily agricultural and forest based products (especially beans and pulses) and main exports to Myanmar are primary and semi finished steel and pharmaceuticals. “Since the establishment of ‘Look East Policy’ India’s trade with Myanmar has improved as we expect a tentative trade figure of US$2 billion in the next few years”, said Dr Singh.

In 2004, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) constituted the India-Myanmar Joint Task Force during the ‘Made in India’ in Yangon. As CII has entered into an MoU with the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI) and the Myanmar Computer Federation, India has extended a number of general and project specific credit lines to neighbouring country in the last few years for improvement trade relations.

Border Trade

In January 1994, the first Border Trade Agreement between India and Myanmar was signed in New Delhi. It was implemented in April 1995 with the opening of a cross border point between Moreh (Manipur, India) and Tamu (Sagaing Division, Myanmar). As both sides had agreed to open four check posts which include Pangsau Pass, Paletwa, Lungwa-Yanyong, and Pangsha-Pangnyo, opening of border posts will help in checking the border trade and making it official, curb the illegal trade of goods, and monitor the activities of the insurgent groups between the two countries.

Highlighting a few drawbacks in gradual trade development between India and Myanmar, Dr Bhanu Singh stated that introduction of railway connectivity at the border is an essential step. He further said that India is lagging far behind if compared with infrastructures available on China-Myanmar border where railway is properly operated as a major mode of transport. In this respect Dr Singh expressed that railway line connecting Jiribam- Moreh-Tamu is essential to accelerate border trade between Myanmar and India.

According to an official record, border trade spurted with export of Indian goods worth Rs3.1million and imports from Myanmar worth Rs1.5 million in 1996-97 had declined to a level of Rs0.5 million in export and import by 2004-05. Rise of popularity of commodities imported from third countries by Myanmar (mainly China), which find their way into India and frequent intimidation by numerous insurgent groups operating in border areas are the main reasons responsible for this decline.

As the two countries have regular border post meetings at Moreh and Tamu, it has been agreed to have four more border posts to facilitate army meetings. They are at Lungwa (Mon district, Nagaland), Bihang (Churachandpur district, Manipur), and Sapi and Zokawathar (Mizoram). Border Roads Organisation built the 160-km-long India-Myanmar friendship road from Tamu to Kalemyo to Kalewa in 2001 and it will be maintained by India up to March 2008. A 400 km border with Myanmar is already fenced and is being improved by raising the height. A stretch of 14 km near the international boundary at Moreh has also been planned to be fenced. Such security arrangement is quite important in view of rampant narcotic trade along the Indo-Myanmar border, which falls under the Golden Triangle region. “If the two governments provide accurate roads and other mode of connectivity, it is quite a simple task to control any sort of cross-border illegal trafficking between India and Myanmar”, said Dr Singh.

Oil Import

Myanmar has reportedly the world’s tenth biggest gas reserves estimated to be more than 90 trillion cubic feet. India has evinced keen interest to procure gas from Myanmar. ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL) and Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL) hold 30 percent stakes in exploration and production of gas in Myanmar’s A1 and A3 offshore blocks located in Sittwe Area of Arakan State. “As Myanmar supplies gas to China and Malaysia, it’s obvious that India also could access the Arakan”, said Dr Singh.

The earlier proposal to bring the gas in Myanmar by a pipeline through Bangladesh to India had to be dropped because of unreasonable demands from Bangladesh. The latest proposal is to bring the gas through a 1575 km pipeline (longer than the Bangladesh route) from Sittwe port in Myanmar through Aizwal-Silchar-Guwahati-Siliguri to Gaya linking it to Haldia-Jagadishpur oil pipeline in Gaya.

Though relations between India and Myanmar have been chequered with numerous ups and downs, since the visit of Senior General Than Shwe in October 2004, the relations have been on the upswing gaining from strength to strength every year. India’s long-term interests may be better served by a democratic regime in Myanmar but the present approach is to help Myanmar in building its democratic institutions without embarrassing or isolating the junta but through official and diplomatic channels.