The cross-border movement of insurgents stands as a pivotal security challenge amidst a myriad of complex issues that confront the effective policing of the India-Myanmar border in the Northeast region. This porous boundary, characterized by dense forests, challenging terrains, and diverse ethnic communities, presents a conducive environment for illicit activities, including smuggling, trafficking, and the infiltration of armed groups. The constant threat posed by insurgents, who exploit the porous border to conduct transnational operations and find safe havens, exacerbates the security dynamics in the region. Apart from insurgency, the border is plagued by issues such as drug trafficking, arms smuggling, and illegal migration, further complicating the task of border management.
Several challenges emanate from this border region, including the difficulty in surveillance due to its topographical intricacies, the presence of sympathetic local populations, and the limitations in infrastructure and resources for effective border control. Additionally, the ethnic and cultural ties across the border often result in a complex socio-political landscape, making it challenging to implement stringent border regulations without inadvertently affecting the local populace.
Tag: Security challenges and their management in border areas- linkages with organized crime with terrorism. Role of external state and non-state actors, in creating challenges to internal security.
Decoding the Question:
- In the Introduction, try to write about the Indo-Myanmar border as a cause of this challenge.
- In Body,
- Discuss various challenges emanating across the India-Myanmar border.
- Discuss steps taken to counter these challenges.
- Try to conclude with suggestions to make future-proof security.
Answer:
Myanmar acts as India’s gateway to South-East Asia. India shares a 1643 km long land border and maritime border in the Bay of Bengal, with Myanmar. The India-Myanmar border is highly porous, poorly guarded, and located along a remote, underdeveloped, insurgency-prone region and proximate to an opium-producing area.
Various challenges across the India-Myanmar border:
- Cross-Border Terrorism: Indo-Myanmar border area has become a haven for dozens of insurgent groups. These insurgent groups perform offensive action in India and bring instability to the area by promoting separatist tendencies and taking an easy hiding in Myanmar.
- These groups also take advantage of loopholes in the free movement regime across borders to supply arms and drugs to India.
- Connectivity: Several connectivity projects like the Kaladan Multi-Modal project and IMT Trilateral Highway project are underway, but the ground-level progress is quite unfortunate.
- Free Movement Regime: It permits tribals to travel 16 km across the borders without any visa restrictions and allows them to carry heavy loads. This loophole is well utilized by insurgents for the trafficking of arms and drugs and to find safe havens in Myanmar.
- Boundary Agreement 1967: Though the agreement has delineated the borders between the two countries not much has been crystallized on ground level.
- Tribal Linkages: The Indo-Myanmar border is densely populated with tribals, and these tribal communities have strong social-cultural linkages across borders and they refuse to accept the artificial border lines.
- Security Forces: Assam Rifles had the responsibility of guarding the Indo-Myanmar border, but most of its battalions are engaged in counter-insurgency operations. Therefore, it functions like a counter-insurgency force rather than a border-guarding force.
- Infrastructural Facility at Border Checkpoints: The infrastructure facilities at border checkpoints are not sufficient to meet the required challenge. Moreh-Zokhawater Point has been declared as an Integrated Check-Point (ICP) but nothing much has materialized on the ground.
- Difficult Terrain Across Border: The geographical terrain around border areas is highly inaccessible, so it becomes quite difficult to develop communication and connectivity.
- Trafficking: Proximity to the ‘golden triangle’ has made the Indo-Myanmar border highly vulnerable to drug trafficking and the border has become a gateway for trafficking of women and small children to South Asian Nations.
- Rohingya Issue: The influx of marginalized Muslim minority Rohingya communities has raised serious socio-cultural confrontations in the areas due to the increased burden on local resources.
Steps to counter challenges:
The government of India has taken various steps to counter these challenges, including the following steps:
- It should strengthen the security of the border by either giving the Assam Rifles the single mandate of guarding the border or deploying another border guarding force such as the Border Security Force (BSF).
- The Comprehensive Integrated Border Management System (CIBMS) which is touted as a robust and integrated system should be proactively deployed. It can address the gaps in the present system of border security by seamlessly integrating human resources, weapons, and high-tech surveillance equipment.
- Construction of Integrated Check Post and increasing their number and improving infrastructure along these ICPs and border regions.
- Improving community participation in border management can make border management more effective and strengthen vigilance in border areas.
India should endeavor to meaningfully engage with Myanmar and solicit its cooperation in resolving all outstanding issues and better managing their mutual border. The potential of the North-east region in India’s growth story can be increased to a significant level and its strategic advantage for Act East Policy should take the driver’s seat by finishing development projects in the region.
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