NE India, Myanmar, and Bangladesh’s exchange of regional strategic advantage

Mehjabin Bhanu
Contd from previous issue
However, no updates on the resuscitation of this trilateral pipeline arrangement are publicly available as of August 2021, hence the project is presumed canceled.
But this trilateral project will benefit India-Bangladesh-Myanmar if the project can be implemented successfully. Thus, all need to think about the revival India-Myanmar-Bangladesh Gas Pipeline project.
Bangladesh always shows interest in joining the India-Myanmar-Thailand (IMT) trilateral expressway to improve connectivity with Southeast Asia, which would usher in a new age of Indo-Pacific trans-border corridors.
During Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s virtual summit with her counterpart Narendra Modi in 2020, Dhaka showed interest in joining IMT, despite the fact that BCIM has made little progress.
According to the joint statement issued at the end of the summit, she requested India’s assistance in enabling Bangladesh to join the effort. The higher connectivity of India’s North-Eastern states with Bangladesh and Myanmar can benefit the region.
Rohingya refugee crisis destabilizes the whole sub-region which needs to be resolved as soon as possible. India should and must help solve this long-pending refugee crisis for the greater interest of the three sub-regional countries.
 It is unnecessary to quote that India would be one of the beneficiaries if the fruitful and sustainable solution of Rohingya crisis could be found. India should make Myanmar understand about this issue.
After coming to power in January 2009, Sheikh Hasina adopted the policy of regional peace and stability and is taking action against Indian insurgents’ groups who have been using Bangladeshi territory. It is Sheikh Hasina (of course) who would never allow any kind of support towards the extremist and separatist groups from Myanmar and India.
Thus, it is India and Myanmar’s responsibility to cooperate Bangladesh to keep the region peaceful. India, Myanmar and Bangladesh must work trilaterally in combatting these common threats.
In the case of Myanmar, after 1962, there was some confusion in Indo-Myanmar ties. Myanmar responded by allowing Indian militants to operate on its soil. Furthermore, India’s border with Myanmar is largely forested, and rebels exploit it without Myanmarese authorities’ knowledge.
However, the Myanmar Government has recently made various moves to combat Indian rebel groups.
Bangladesh shares a land border with India, which is strategically located in the Bay of Bengal. Greater connectivity amongst India, Bangladesh and Myanmar via India’s north east and Bangladesh would be strategically.
Any trilateral initiatives to strengthen links will benefit the North East, and it will be interesting to see how the region evolves.
The improvement of political relations between Bangladesh, India, and Myanmar, as well as the resolution of long-standing maritime territorial issues in 2012 and 2014 respectively, present an ideal opportunity to explore trilateral cooperation in resource sharing, inter-linking connectivity, and combined security measures.
Even though bilateral security cooperation has grown over time, new forms of collaborative security activities between the three countries can be explored. Similar to the trilateral maritime security cooperation between India, the Maldives, and Sri Lanka, India can establish trilateral naval security cooperation with Bangladesh and Myanmar. India already conducts joint military exercises with Bangladesh and Myanmar, which might be expanded into trilateral drills to counter transnational security issues in the Bay of Bengal region.
All three stake holders should ensure proper utilization of blue economy collectively.
Collaboration between the three countries can maximize the region’s abundant natural resources. The BoB’s maritime border disputes between Bangladesh and India, as well as between Bangladesh and Myanmar, provide an opportunity for the three nations to begin collaborative natural resource development.
Bangladesh shares a border with the five Indian states of West Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Tripura and Myanmar. This provides the three countries a number of interesting opportunities to work closely together.  As the world ‘pivots to Asia’ and the Indian look East policy transforms to the Act East policy, Bangladesh, Myanmar and India have the potential to be an important part of the great endeavor of greater trade in the region.