Myanmar Border Ops

While the attention of the country has been riveted at surgical strikes 2.0 after the Pulwama outrage and its political overtones in election season, the Indian Army has been carrying out ‘surgical strikes 3.0’ at the eastern border in cooperation with the Myanmar Army. On February 17, the two armies launched a coordinated operation against the insurgent group Arakan Army, which had been moving from its bases in north Myanmar since 2017 to set up strong camps in Rakhine State at the country’s south. This was seen as a threat to the Kaladan project which will open up the sea route from Sittwe port in Rakhine to Kolkata through the Northeast. Slated to be completed in 2019-20, this project will cover 150 kms along Kaladan river to Paletwa in Chin State, from there by road across Zorinpui on the border to Aizawl, then onward to NH-54 which passes through Dabaka in Assam and is part of the East-West Corridor. The sea route between Sittwe and Kolkata ports has been operational for several decades, while the river route cum roadway link through the Northeast promises to open up a vast landlocked and backward swathe in the two countries for mutual benefit. Considering the reluctance of Bangladesh to grant transit rights to NE States and China’s lengthening footprint in Myanmar, the importance of the $484 million Kaladan project can hardly be overstated. One of its offshoots is greater cooperation between the Indian and Myanmar defence forces. Their joint threat perceptions include Kachin Independence Army (KIA), Arakan Army and Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) as well as NSCN(K) and some other NE rebel outfits. In the latest operation, the Indian Army moved deployments along this side of the border while the Myanmar Army destroyed camps of Arakan Army and NSCN(K). Earlier in January, the Myanmar Army also occupied camps of NSCN(K) and Manipur rebel groups in the north at Ta Ga region near the Chinese border. Shorn of hyperbole and political posturing, Indian diplomatic efforts in the East are quietly bearing some fruits.