Getting the proper policies and economies in place can help break down geographic bottlenecks. S Jaishankar, India's foreign affairs minister, agrees with the idea of rewriting history by advocating connection between India, Myanmar, and Bangladesh to boost the region's economy.
He claims that if land connectivity through Myanmar and sea connectivity through Bangladesh become commercially viable, a realm will open up all the way to Vietnam and the Philippines, from Haiphong to Hazira and Manila to Mundra, creating an east-west lateral with significant benefits for Africa. This ambition can be realized by improving connections with Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, and Myanmar in order to expand access to ASEAN countries and beyond.
The proposal has five advantages:
One, Asean countries can sell their products in South Asian markets and vice versa.
Two, while India reaches eastern Asia, its northeastern side can be seamlessly connected to the mainland.
Three, Bangladesh has the potential to grow its market throughout East Asia.
Four, Africa will have access to South Asia via East Asia and vice versa.
Five, it would have an impact on the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, which is now being developed.
The proposal's most significant purpose is to connect South Asia with Southeast Asia. In order to provide effective physical connectivity between South Asia and Southeast Asia, transportation infrastructure projects must be developed from a regional perspective.
The varied topography and variety of transportation modes highlight the importance of multimodal planning in constructing roads, railways, seaports, inland waterways, and airports that meet the needs of customers and transportation service providers. The idea includes two significant phases: Land connectivity via Myanmar and sea connectivity via Bangladesh.
Myanmar has the potential to become an important Asian transportation hub and a gateway between South Asia, Southeast Asia, and East Asia. It is bordered on the north and northeast by China, on the east and southeast by Laos and Thailand, and on the west and northwest by Bangladesh and India.
To take advantage of Myanmar's elongated shape, various bilateral and multilateral programs are establishing road transport links such as the Asian Highway, India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway, Myanmar-Northeast India rail links, and Greater Mekong Subregion Economic corridors. Rail lines such as the Trans-Asia Railway, the Delhi-Ha Noi Railway, and the Greater Mekong Subregion Railway improve land connectivity.
Bangladesh is strategically located as a crossroads between Asean and Saarc, providing possible access to each other's export-driven manufacturers. Chittagong and Mongla (near Khulna) are the two largest ports in Bangladesh that handle international trade, with the former serving as the primary seaport on the banks of the Karnaphuli River. A new port, Payra, was inaugurated in Patuakhali to fulfil the growing demands of the economy and relieve pressure on these two ports.
Bangladesh has already signed an MoU with Thailand to boost trade between the two nations by increasing maritime connectivity in the Bay of Bengal. This is part of Bangladesh's larger goal of increasing connection with neighbouring countries, notably the Asean, Bimstec, and Saarc areas.
The Coastal Shipping Agreement (CSA) signed between India and Bangladesh in 2012 aims to increase bilateral trade through ports directly, rather than having goods shipped via Colombo, Singapore, or Klang, as was previously the case.
It has also made it possible for Indian commodities arriving at Chittagong Port to be distributed to India's Northeast. For example, freight from Kolkata to Chittagong or Mongla can be delivered via multimodal transport (rail, road, or inland waterways) to either Bangladesh or India's Northeast.
Bangladesh has also authorized the usage of the following routes: Chittagong/Mongla to Agartala (Tripura), Chittagong/Mongla to Dawki (Meghalaya), and Chittagong/Mongla to Sutarkandi (Assam). Such agreements have made maritime connectivity simple and inexpensive. With the new Payra port now operational, there is much more potential to improve connectivity and connect Asia as a whole. There are also great hopes in negotiations to put the Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, and Nepal (BBIN) Motor Vehicle Agreement (MVA) into effect, which would ensure seamless vehicular transit between the neighbours.
Although South Asian countries are linked by common history and culture, they are nevertheless poorly integrated, with integration ranking among the lowest in the world. The subregional initiative Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, and Nepal (BBIN) aims to strengthen economic cooperation and connectivity among these four South Asian countries. The deal will allow cars to enter each other's territory, removing the need for items to be transshipped from one country's truck to another at the border, a time-consuming and costly process.
The BBIN MVA and rail network developments will also benefit India's northeastern area tremendously. The BBIN agreements will shorten the distance between the northeastern states and the Kolkata port by around a thousand kilometres while also allowing these states to access the Chittagong port in Bangladesh. This has the potential to open up a plethora of economic opportunities in India's Northeast.
Restoring all of India's and Bangladesh's inactive rail ties, expanding them further, and developing additional border haats and international markets in border areas will foster interpersonal relationships. However, successful land and maritime connectivity will shift these “people to people” (P2P) connections to “government to government” (G2G) connections.
India anticipates that the connectivity project will extend beyond Bangladesh and Myanmar. India is investigating the viability of building a cross-border rail route between Bhutan and India, which would run through Assam or expand the Buddhist circuit to connect revered holy sites in Bhutan and Nepal with those in Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh.
Anup Sinha is a researcher and academic specializing in South Asian affairs.
