Stalled at the border

It was meant to be a bridge between India and Southeast Asia. Yet, 23 years after it was conceived, construction of the India-Myanmar-Thailand trilateral highway remains stalled due to the ongoing civil war in Myanmar. The incomplete flagship project of India’s Act East Policy has, in many ways, become a metaphor for the status of New Delhi’s broader ambitions to use infrastructure to connect remote parts of the country with the rest of the nation and its wider neighbourhood. Political upheavals in Bangladesh and Myanmar have emerged as major roadblocks in these efforts, hobbling ambitions and stymying India’s hopes of integrating its economy with those of Southeast Asian nations.

The impacted projects include the Agartala-Akhaura rail line, which is intended to significantly reduce travel times for passengers and cargo between Tripura and Assam on one side and West Bengal on the other, by cutting through Bangladesh. India is also constructing a rail line connecting Bhutan with Assam’s Bodoland region, but plans to use Bangladesh’s river systems to extend that project and link it with the rest of India are now in limbo. The trilateral highway, meanwhile, is designed to connect Moreh, a town in Manipur near the Myanmar border, with Mae Sot in Thailand. The future of a planned rail link between Moreh and Tamu in Myanmar is also unclear.

At the heart of these disruptions are the recent ruptures in India’s relations with both Bangladesh and Myanmar. The overthrow of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government by a popular but anti-India movement has pushed New Delhi onto the back foot—not only in bilateral relations but also in its broader connectivity plans. As Bangladesh tightened restrictions on the import of Indian yarn and rice, New Delhi responded by suspending access for Bangladeshi exports through Indian ports and transit networks, except for goods destined for Bhutan and Nepal. Meanwhile, India has been trying to build working relations with the military junta that took power in Myanmar after the 2021 coup, while also maintaining historic ties with a range of rebel and opposition groups that remain influential along the long, shared border. These are complex balancing acts.

Still, the same connectivity projects that are currently stalled due to geopolitical shifts could also serve as potential catalysts for renewed ties with Bangladesh and Myanmar. India, for instance, is reportedly keen to accelerate the Kaladan Multimodal Project, which connects Kolkata with Sittwe in Myanmar by sea and links Mizoram with Sittwe by road. This project, which does not require Bangladeshi participation, would reduce India’s dependence on the so-called Chicken’s Neck—the narrow Siliguri corridor that is the only land link between the rest of India and the Northeast. If India can make these routes fully operational, the benefits will be difficult for anyone in the region to ignore. Ultimately, neither Bangladesh nor Myanmar can afford to remain isolated. Therein lies India’s opportunity.

(Charu Kasturi is a senior journalist focusing on international relations, trade, energy, and technology.)