After Chabahar in Iran, India achieved strategic gains by acquiring the rights to operate in 2024 in its second overseas port located on the Kaladan River in the Rakhine state of Myanmar. A deep-water port, the Sittwe Port is part of the ‘Kaladan’, a multi-modal transit project that aims to connect the eastern Indian seaport in Myanmar by sea, and further link Sittwe Port to Paletwa in Myanmar via the Kaladan river waterway and connect Paletwa to Zorinpui in Mizoram through a road component.
April 2024, Author: Sagar K. Chourasia
The Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport was envisioned to improve connectivity and promote economic development in India’s north-eastern states and the western region of Myanmar. The Sittwe Port capacity is around 20000 deadweight tonnage (DWT) and the total length of the quay of 270 meters and can handle containers, bulk and general cargo, thus providing a direct route for transporting most goods ‘to and fro’ to the North-Eastern region. The multi-modal transit was signed in 2009 with an approximate cost of $484 million which provides the sea route of 539 km from Kolkata to Sittwe, inland waterways of 158 km of river route on Kaladan and 129km of road route. The major transportation of products from other Indian states to the northeast includes foodgrains, fertilizers, tar-coal or bitumen, imported coal, pharmaceuticals, iron and steel, fly ash and edible oil. In comparison, the major transportation of products from the northeast to the other Indian states includes limestone, tea, and agricultural commodities like fertilizers, silicon, and other petroleum lubricants. In addition to this, this maritime expedition will act as an enabler of India’s trade with Myanmar which includes pharmaceutical products, oil lubricants, and various Agricultual commodities including paper, cotton yarn, and fertilizers.
Are there roadblocks to strategic gains?
The Sittwe Port offers various key strategic advantages to India with its neighbourhood first policy: First, it offers an alternative route for shipping goods to India’s northeastern states. Second, it reduces the cost and distance from Kolkata to Mizoram and beyond. Third, it reduces the dependency on the Siliguri Corridor (Chicken’s Neck), which is squeezed between Bhutan and Bangladesh. It is imperative concern for Indian foreign policymakers to reduce dependence on Siliguri Point as the ‘Chicken Neck’ is vulnerable due to natural disasters such as frequent floods and earthquakes, it is a sensitive security area which is highly patrolled by security forces and the logistics time via road from Kolkata to Agartala takes 4 days, which eventually will be reduced to 2 days of journey through this gateway.
Major challenges to smooth navigation
In the current Myanmar Army and rebel armed group conflict, there is a continuous struggle to gain control over the land territories, which started three years ago by overthrowing the democratically elected government. The Paletwa town on the western border of Myanmar is under the control Arakan Army, which is a critical point in the Kaladan multi-modal transit. In addition, China’s influence in the region is to be considered in commercial bilateral exchanges as well. There have been reports of financial support that the rebel armed groups are receiving from China, to control certain territories. China has also built oil and gas pipelines from the Rakhine state to Yunan province and has signed agreements with the Myanmar Army to operate deep water ports, which is part of its larger ambition of the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor. The recent Manipur internal ethnic clashes have also raised concerns for the effective operations of the roadways of this multi-modal project.
In conclusion, India’s operations on its second overseas port will not only be a strategic development, but a commercial achievement, as it will improve the freedom of navigation of the land-locked North-Eastern region. However, amid the current conflict between the rebel groups and the military in Myanmar, Will this critical transit point be able to sustain the commerce between two far points of India? Will this connectivity plan be able to bridge the gap beyond commerce, and bring in people-to-people connections in the region?