Sittwe port, India’s N-E gateway via Myanmar, has China docking in too

China’s National Reform and Development Commission recently approved plans to build an oil pipeline from Sittwe to Kunming, capital of China’s Yunnan province.

India has been looking at the port as a gateway to its North East. Sittwe offers an alternative to the Siliguri corridor to the North East. Denied overland transit by Bangladesh, India badly needs Sittwe and a transport corridor at the mouth of the Kaladan which runs south from Mizoram. New Delhi is also interested in building a pipeline from the Arakan coast to move Myanmar’s gas into North East.

For Beijing too, Sittwe is about geopolitical access and security of energy supplies. Amidst security threats to the Malacca straits, China is keen to develop alternative oil supply routes. A pipeline from Sittwe to Kunming would also make it possible to build a modern highway that would allow China’s south western provinces to gain easy access to the waters of the Indian Ocean.

raja.mohan@expressindia.com