Union home minister Amit Shah said the Modi government has decided to fence the entire 1,643-km India-Myanmar border.
Govt To Fence Entire Indo-Myanmar Border
Union home minister Amit Shah said the Modi government has decided to fence the entire 1,643-km India-Myanmar border. The move could virtually put an end to the Free Movement Regime prevalent along the porous border.
Shah said a 10-km stretch of the border at Moreh in Manipur has already been fenced. Furthermore, two pilot projects of fencing through a hybrid surveillance system are under execution. “They will fence a stretch of 1 km each in Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur. Additionally, fence works covering approximately 20 km in Manipur have also been approved, and the work will start soon,” he said.
He had also said the state was working towards a National Register of Citizens and fencing of the border with Myanmar. Manipur shares around 390 km of porous border with Myanmar, of which only about 10 km is fenced. The border between India and Myanmar runs for 1,643 km in the four states of Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland, and Arunachal Pradesh. The FMR is a mutually agreed arrangement between the two countries that allows tribes living along the border to travel up to 16 km inside the other country without a visa.
What is the Free Movement Regime (FMR)?
The FMR is a mutually agreed arrangement between the two countries that allows tribes living along the border on either side to travel up to 16 km inside the other country without a visa. It was implemented in 2018 as part of the Indian government’s Act East policy. The partition of the India-Myanmar border traces back to 1826 when British colonial rulers demarcated the boundary without considering the opinions of the local inhabitants. The demarcation has resulted in the division of people who share strong ethnic and familial bonds across the border. In addition to fostering people-to-people interactions, the Free Movement Regime (FMR) was envisioned to boost local trade and business activities. The area has a rich tradition of cross-border commerce facilitated by customs and border haats.
Strategic Significance
Myanmar is a key component of India’s Act East Policy, a diplomatic initiative aimed at fostering economic, strategic, and cultural relations with the Asia-Pacific region. Myanmar’s membership of SAARC, ASEAN, BIMSTEC, and Mekong Ganga Cooperation has introduced a regional dimension to bilateral relations and imparted added significance in the context of India’s “Act East” policy.
Kaladan Multimodal Transit Transport Project
The project aims to connect the eastern Indian seaport of Kolkata with Sittwe port in Myanmar by sea.
India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway Project
The project aims to establish a road link between the three nations, with the highway beginning in Moreh in India’s Manipur state, passing through Myanmar, and ending at Mae Sot in Thailand.
