India Racing From Behind For Myanmar

India Racing From Behind For Myanmar

- Sunzu Bachaspatimayum

Obviously, India is paying a heavy price for not making Nehru’s statement a guiding principle in developing its relations with Myanmar and today it is aggressively fighting for space not only with China, the most entrenched power in Myanmar but also with Thailand and Singapore.

With democratic reforms taking place in Myanmar, India sees this as a strategic opportunity to counter Chinese influence in Myanmar as well as an opening to the booming ASEAN market with northeast India as the gateway. While it does not expect to rival China’s influence in the near future, India is hoping to counter the Chinese equation by presenting itself as a formidable alternate.

Having paid a damaging price of sacrificing geo-political interests in its rejection of the military junta in support for democratizing Myanmar, Indian foreign policy of Act East is how India is looking to engage Myanmar in current times.

India sees Myanmar as the springboard for its Act East Policy, where India can establish physical connectivity between Southeast Asian countries and its northeastern states via Myanmar.