Prime Minister Narendra Modi broke new ground last Monday by inviting the leaders
of “every nation on India’s periphery” to his swearing-in ceremony.
These countries included all the South Asian Association for Regional
Cooperation (SAARC) countries as well as SAARC observer Mauritius. Even
the Prime Minister in exile of Tibet was
invited. Despite this impressive guest list, the leader of one of India’s neighbors, Myanmar, was not invited.
This fact is made all the more glaring because the omission of an
invite seems to go against the new government’s desire to cultivate more
substantial relations with its neighbors. India and Myanmar share a
long 1,624-kilometer (1,009 mi) border. However, in all likelihood, the
lack of an invite for Myanmar’s President Thein Sein was not a mistake
or a deliberate omission, but simply something that was on nobody’s
mind. Politicians and the media in both countries did not seem to expect
that Myanmar would even be invited, as evidenced by the fact that the
media in neither country made an issue out of Myanmar’s non-invite.
This is a function of how both countries view each other. Despite the fact that Myanmar is an
observer
in the SAARC, it does not have strong ties with South Asia and is more
oriented towards Southeast Asia, where it is a member of the Association
of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). From the vantage point of New
Delhi too, policy toward Myanmar is treated not through the lens of
South Asian bonhomie but under the aegis of India’s
Look East Policy.
This lack of closeness may come as a surprise to some, but despite
rhetoric about historical, cultural, and religious ties, Myanmar and
India went different ways centuries ago with Myanmar drawing closer to
Thailand and China. After the British conquest of Burma in the
nineteenth century, what is today’s Myanmar was ruled as a province of
British India but was separated and made an independent colony in 1937,
largely at the demand of Burmese nationalists who did not identify with
the nationalist Indian independence movement.
Relations with Southeast Asian countries, including Myanmar, will
undoubtedly be given more priority in the upcoming few months. The
previous Congress government unfortunately
neglected
India’s relations with its Asian neighbors, its elite English-speaking
and Western-educated leaders seemingly forgetting that India is in fact
in Asia and not in the West — a psychological orientation
reflected
in external policy. The Indian nationalist narrative reflected in BJP
thinking is, on the other hand, more oriented towards Asia. To begin
with, India will seek greater connectivity with Southeast Asia and land
routes must necessarily pass through Myanmar. India has recently
called for
a bus route from Imphal in Northeastern India to Mandalay in Myanmar.
Potentially more important is Myanmar’s location between India and
China. Prime Minister Modi is especially keen on improving India’s
lukewarm relations with China, which had experienced glacial progress
under the previous government. Congress may have deliberately
misinformed the public of the nature of India’s
past interactions
with China in order to create a sense of martyrdom to cover up for its
failures during the 1962 Sino-Indian War. In a recent conversation with
Modi, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang warmly suggested the
construction
of a Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar (BCIM) economic corridor that would
connect Kunming in China to India’s Northeast through Myanmar.
Such a connection to Myanmar, Southeast Asia, and China would be a
boon to India’s much neglected Northeast region. Northeast India is
significantly different from the rest of India in terms of languages,
religion, culture, and even race and is in many ways more Southeast
Asian than South Asian. Surrounded by Myanmar, China, and Bangladesh on
almost all four sides
and connected to the rest of India via only a narrow corridor, greater
interconnectivity with international neighbors could bring this region
much needed economic development and stem the dozens of insurgencies
that have plagued the area for the past 60 years. That the Modi
government means to improve the situation in Northeast India is clear by
the appointment of a seasoned former general, Vijay Kumar (VK) Singh to
the federal Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (MDONER).
Singh is
expected to infuse some much needed dynamism into the region.
The Modi government’s initial focus on its neighbors in South Asia is
not at odds with improving relations with Southeast Asia. The Look East
Policy was a cornerstone of the previous BJP government and in all
likelihood will be given more importance under Modi, given his marked
interest in pursuing stronger relations with his eastern neighbors.
However, the Look East Policy makes more sense if it occurs in tandem
with economic integration in South Asia, as it makes little sense for
India to liberalize trade with Southeast Asian countries without
pursuing a similar policy in its own backyard. This is why South Asia
has been accorded the greater initial priority, especially since
economic integration and bilateral trade in the region is currently
miniscule.
Akhilesh Pillalamarri is an Editorial Assistant at The Diplomat.
