New Delhi: India is gearing up to invest approximately $3.7 billion in fortifying its 1,610-km (1,000-mile) border with Myanmar over the next decade, reports Reuters, citing sources familiar with the matter.
Earlier this year, New Delhi announced its intent to erect a fence along the border, aiming to clamp down on smuggling and other illegal activities. This move also signals the termination of the long-standing visa-free movement arrangement with Myanmar for border residents, citing concerns over national security and the preservation of the demographic balance in its northeastern region.
A government committee, convened earlier this month, has endorsed the budget for the fencing project, pending approval from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s cabinet, as per the sources.
Read More: Iran Threatens $18 Billion Lawsuit as Pakistan Pushes Ahead with Gas Pipeline Plans
Despite attempts to elicit responses, requests for comment from key Indian government offices including the Prime Minister’s Office and the Ministries of Home Affairs, Finance, Foreign Affairs, and Information and Broadcasting remained unanswered at the time of reporting.
Myanmar has yet to officially respond to India’s fencing plans, the report added.
Following a military coup in Myanmar in 2021, a significant number of civilians and troops have sought refuge in Indian states with shared ethnic and familial ties. This influx has raised concerns in New Delhi regarding the potential spread of communal tensions into India.
Certain members of the Indian government attribute the porous border to exacerbating the volatile situation in Manipur, a restive northeastern Indian state bordering Myanmar. Manipur has been gripped by a state of quasi-civil war between two ethnic factions, one of which shares ancestry with Myanmar’s Chin tribe, for nearly a year.
The committee of senior Indian officials has also greenlit plans to construct parallel roads alongside the fence, as well as 1,700 km (1,050 miles) of feeder roads connecting military bases to the border, according to the sources.
The construction of the fence and accompanying road infrastructure is estimated to cost nearly 125 million rupees per kilometer, more than double the 55 million per kilometer cost of the border fence erected along Bangladesh in 2020. This increased cost is attributed to the challenging hilly terrain and the incorporation of advanced technology to deter intrusions and ensure durability.
