By Dipanjan Roy Chaudhury, KUNA
New Delhi : With India vigourously pursuing its “Look East Policy” for expanding economic ties with Southeast and East Asia, plans are afoot to re-open the historic “Stilwell Road,” linking the country’s northeastern region to China via Myanmar.
India is working to re-open the 1,726-km Stillwell Road from the northeastern Indian state of Assam to China’s Yunnan province, as connectivity is vital for greater pan-Asian integration and engaging with the 10-member Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Ahead of the India-ASEAN summit in Singapore, earlier this week, chief ministers of India’s northeastern states had appealed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to re-open the Stilwell Road. Assam is about 2,000 km from Delhi and some 3,000 km from Indias financial capital, Mumbai. Myanmar and Thailand are in fact closer to most of the northeastern states of India.
Re-opening the Stilwell Road would undoubtedly boost the economy and trading activities between the northeastern Indian states and Southeast Asian countries, a senior official at the Indian Ministry of External Affairs told KUNA on Friday.
There may be over 215 direct and indirect flights every week between India and Singapore, 115 flights with Thailand and 50 with Malaysia, but road and other links between India and Southeast Asia have to be established. “India does recognise this problem and is involving the ASEAN in the Northeast region, ” the official noted.
Named after American General Joseph Stilwell, who masterminded the construction of the road, Stilwell Road was a lifeline for the movement of allied forces during World War II.
Chinese labourers, Indian soldiers and American engineers took three years to build the road. The Stilwell Road on the Indian side is about 61 km long. The major stretch of 1,033 km lies within Myanmar, while the stretch in China is 632 km. The Myanmar portion of the highway needs to be developed.
This historic road, when re-opened, would have the potential to become the hub of business activities and the gateway to Southeast Asian economic centres. “The Prime Minister had clearly stated that the government was keen on furthering the country’s ‘Look East Policy’ by allowing border trade with neighbouring Southeast Asian nations,” the official said.
Indian automobile components, fruits, grains, vegetables, textiles and cotton yarn are in great demand in most of the neighbouring countries. Indian traders, on the other hand, are keen on importing electronic gadgets, synthetic blankets, teak, gold and semi-precious stones.
“Better connectivity would therefore be a boon for these traders, and the government is working for better infrastructure connecting northeast India with Southeast Asia,” the official concluded.