On the eve of Myanmar’s general elections, Indian Army Chief General MM Naravane and Foreign Secretary Harsh Shringla head to Naypyidaw on Sunday to seal the long-awaited coastal transport deal to activate the multimodal project. Kaladan and cement security ties against insurgent groups. General Naravane and Shringla will meet Senior General Min Aung Hlaing and Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s State Councilor, as the last foreign visitors ahead of the November 8 elections.
According to South Block officials, both General Naravane and Shringla will thoroughly review ties with the Myanmar leadership so that there are no discrepancies in the exchange of views. The highlight of the one-day, two-day visit will be the Coastal Shipping Agreement that will allow Indian ships to reach Mizoram via the Port of Sittwe in the Bay of Bengal and via the Kaladan River multimodal link. This project has been on hold for the past 20 years when it was envisioned by the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government.
The two sides will also discuss strengthening security ties by making the India-Myanmar border impenetrable for anti-India insurgents and drug traffickers. Large numbers of anti-India insurgents are based on the Moreh border in Manipur and on the Vijayanagar salient in Arunachal Pradesh. The anti-India insurgents are armed with Chinese weapons with their leaders like Paresh Baruah of the Ruili-based ULFA in China’s Yunnan province. The border between India and Myanmar is also used to smuggle synthetic drugs like YABA and heroin.
India and Myanmar will also discuss increased cooperation in the energy sector with New Delhi which already invests more than $ 1.4 billion in the development of hydrocarbon-rich offshore blocks in the Andaman seas.
While there is a significant Chinese presence in Myanmar in the infrastructure, hydrocarbons, energy and ports sector, Naypyidaw is eager to develop broad ties with India. Myanmar’s leaders are clear that their ties with China cannot be at the cost of their bilateral relationship with India.
During the visit of senior Indian officials, the two sides will also discuss the issue of Rohingya rehabilitation with India which is already discussing the facilitation of refugees back to Myanmar. All three countries do not want Pakistan-based Islamist groups to infiltrate Rohingya refugee settlements on the Bangladesh-Myanmar border and radicalize them. There is already evidence that Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba and the Bangladesh-based Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen group have sent their cadres to radicalize the Rohingya.
“As India views Myanmar as the key to developing and securing its northeast region, the dialogue with Naypyidaw will be comprehensive and will discuss all aspects of the relationship,” said a senior official.
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