Letter from the Editor-in-Chief
December 2012
Myanmar is a nation, in which super power like U.S.A and China are taking great interest. India, too, realized the importance of Myanmar in its geo-politics and framed its strategic policies accordingly.
The recent visit of San Sui Kyi, the aunty of Myanmarese, in India is quite significant. It is true that she is on opposition side and at the same time enjoys the mass support in her own country.
During her visit to India- she got warm welcome from every nook and corner. She had earlier studied in Delhi hence she has an emotional touch for the country. However, she was, smart enough, to remind India that it has not supported her democratic movement in Myanmar. But remained optimistic with her relationship with India. What worries India’s North East is the fact that she has not assured any action on insurgent group of North East who are having camps in Myanmar. To this her reply was, Myanmar itself is plunged into insurgency.
India’s North East can be in peace, only when its neighbouring countries do not support the militant outfit of North East. We have seen how the co-operation from Bangladesh has helped in curbing the insurgency in Assam. All neighbouring countries i.e. Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Myanmar and Nepal needs to be an ally. This will be a win-win situation for all the countries.
To curb militants, India has to play the role of an elder brother and act faster than the other super powers. It is in this contest that India’s look East policy is of great importance and beneficial to the people of both side of the border. Though – we are slow, compared to China yet we have made some of the remarkable achievements in having a relationship with Myanmar. To quote in 2005, we had traded to the tune of $557 million which rose to 1.2 billion in 2010. India also has plans to build a 1200 MW hydroelectric power station on the Chindwin river, beside several infra-structure project in Myanmar including major road construction to link the two nations. To this extent-India’s foreign policy with Myanmar is well placed. Though its actions are late compare to that of China but it is always better to be late than never.