Apart from bilateral relations, both countries are also members of regional BIMSTEC, SAARC, and the Mekong-Ganga Cooperation, which have facilitated closer ties and increased influence among Southeast Asian nations. In terms of economic relations, both countries signed the India-Myanmar trade agreement in 1970. The bilateral trade has grown steadily since then, though still way less than its potential. India is Myanmar’s sixth largest trading partner, and merchandise trade between them in 2022-23 was USD 1.76 billion. India's major import items from Myanmar are dominated by agricultural items (beans, pulses, and forest-based products like teak) and form 90% of our imports. India’s main exports to Myanmar consist of primary and semi-finished steel and pharmaceuticals.
Myanmar is also the beneficiary of a duty-free tariff preference scheme for least-developed countries (LDCs). India has also given a Line of Credit of USD 500 million to Myanmar for undertaking various projects. As per India’s MEA, in terms of investment, India stands at 11th position with an approved investment of USD 773.038 million by 34 Indian enterprises as of 31 January 2022. 13 Indian Public Sector Undertakings have a presence in Myanmar in different sectors, with a concentration in oil and gas. Further, there have been total investments of USD 1.74 billion between April 2000 and March 2023. Some Indian companies such as Essar, GAIL, and ONGC Videsh Ltd. have invested in Myanmar’s energy sector. Both countries are also working for closer connectivity. Major projects being undertaken are the Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project and India Myanmar Thailand Trilateral Highway. Let’s discuss both these projects one by one.
Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project: It is a bilateral project that aims to provide an alternative route from Kolkata to India’s North Eastern state of Aizawl in Mizoram via Sittwe Port and Kaladana River of Myanmar. The project will help not only India but Myanmar as well due to increased economic activity. The interoperability between Kolkatta and Sittwe Port has already begun in 2023. However, the work inside Myanmar is yet to be done which has also been delayed due to political instability and civil war situation in Myanmar. Recently in January 2024, The Arakan Army, a rebel group in Myanmar, captured Paletwa (an important site in the Kaladan Project), putting the Kaladan project’s future in the doldrums.
India–Myanmar–Thailand Trilateral Highway: It is a 1,360 km long, 4-lane highway connecting Moreh in Manipur, India with Mae Sot in Thailand, via Myanmar. This highway will facilitate trade and commerce, health, education, and tourism between the three nations apart from cost-effective transportation. The highway is also of strategic importance for India as it provides land routes to Southeast Asian countries. The project has suffered various delays in the past with the initial timeline to make the highway operational by 2015. However, the same was extended the timeline till 2019 and the new deadline is set for 2027.
India–Myanmar–Thailand Trilateral Highway Route: Both countries also have deepening security and strategic interests. Myanmar has never been a big threat to India’s security unlike China, Pakistan, or Bangladesh. In recent decades, the Myanmar Government has helped India in flushing out the terrorist organizations operating in India’s North Eastern States. Myanmar helped India by undertaking strikes against ULFA and other militants in 2007. India conducted surgical strikes in 2015 against the NSCN–K group in Myanmar. Also, India along with Myanmar conducted another operation i.e. Sunrise 1 and Sunrise 2 against militants in 2019.
It should be noted that China, like our other neighbors has strong footprints in Myanmar including defense relations. In fact, China was the main country with which Myanmar had relations under military rule. It is said that China has signal intelligence facilities, maritime bases, and radar facilities at the Coco Islands in Myanmar which they use to monitor the activities of Indian forces, especially the Indian Navy based in nearby Andamans & Nicobar Islands. China is also constructing a 7.3 billion USD deep-water port and a 2.7 billion USD industrial area in a special economic zone at Kyaukpyu along the coast of the Bay of Bengal. To counterbalance China, India is taking over operations of Sittwe port in Myanmar. This will also be used for connecting India’s North Eastern states apart from achieving strategic interests.
The defense relations of both countries have also been growing. Both countries also undertake joint military exercises of the Army and Navy under the names IMBAX and IMNEX. According to a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI, 2017), India is one of the top five arms exporters to Myanmar along with China, Russia, Israel, and Ukraine. Recent developments in the India-Myanmar bilateral defense cooperation include the sale of anti-submarine torpedoes to the Myanmar Navy and transferring of Russian-made Kilo-class diesel-electric Submarine INS Sindhuvir to enhance the capability of the Myanmar Navy. Both countries also signed an MoU in July 2019 to strengthen defense cooperation in training, joint surveillance, maritime security, etc.
The border is highly porous and poorly guarded. Located along remote and underdeveloped areas, It is vulnerable to insurgents and drugs and arms traffickers posing a challenge to India’s security. In fact, India had a Free Movement Regime agreement (FMR) with Myanmar allowing cross-border movement up to 16 km without a visa. It was started to promote people-to-people connections, given the shared ethnicity and culture of various communities on both sides of the border. However, recently, the central government has decided to scrap the same. Also, the government has decided to fence the whole Indo-Myanmar border. There have been clashes going on between Myanmar’s military regime and Myanmar’s rebel groups like the Arakan Army, which has security impacts on India, including cross-border movements of rebels and the Myanmar Army and the influx of refugees. There have been cases of drug trafficking, apart from Indian insurgents moving to the Myanmar side. All this led to the decision to make the borders impenetrable by India.
Another issue is of Rohingya Muslim ethnic community from the Rakhine state of western Myanmar. There have been various ethnic conflicts of Rohingyas with other ethnic groups. There was an anti-insurgent operation by the Myanmar military in 2017 against the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army, which led to widespread illegal migration of the Rohingya population to various countries including Bangladesh, India, Malaysia, and other nearby countries. Myanmar does not consider Rohingya Muslims among its 135 ethnic groups under its 1982 Citizenship Act. It considers them migrants from Bangladesh after Burmese independence or the 1971 war. As per estimates, approximately 40,000 Rohingyas are in India and have reached up to Jammu, Hyderabad, Delhi, Haryana, and UP, leading to internal security concerns in India.
Despite various close cooperation and some challenges, the relations between the two countries are broadly on a stable platform. There have not been many points of friction yet there has been much lower than potential cooperation between two countries. The bilateral relations can be taken to higher levels and India can provide strong support to the people of Myanmar in their economic prosperity through cooperation in infrastructure, tourism, healthcare, technology, etc. At the same time, Myanmar can also help India in its security and strategic concerns.