Context: Operation Sunrise: India-Myanmar target insurgent groups camp in North East.

• Named Operation Sunrise, the strategy is aimed at hitting militant groups that are impacting both India and Myanmar.
• It was carried out by the armies of India and Myanmar.
• In the operation, Other than NSCN (K), the groups hit were Kamtapur Liberation Organisation (KLO), the the United Liberation Front of Assam, and the National Democratic Front of Boroland (NDFB).

Background:

In February when the first phase of the Operation Sunrise was launched, the trigger was a threat to the mega Kaladan Project.

About Kaladan project:

The Kaladan project connects Sittwe Port in Myanmar to the India-Myanmar border.

The project was jointly initiated by India and Myanmar to create a multi-modal platform for cargo shipments from the eastern ports to Myanmar and to the North-eastern parts of the country through Myanmar.

Significance: It is expected to open up sea routes and promote economic development in the North-eastern states, and also add value to the economic, commercial and strategic ties between India and Myanmar. This project will reduce distance from Kolkata to Sittwe by approximately 1328 km and will reduce the need to transport good through the narrow Siliguri corridor, also known as Chicken’s Neck.

Where is Sittwe located?

Sittwe is the capital of Rakhine State (which has been in the news for the plight of Rohingya Muslims) in south-western Myanmar. It is located at the mouth of the Kaladan river, which flows into Mizoram in north-eastern India.

Significance of this port for India:

India has for years sought transit access through Bangladesh to ship goods to the landlocked north-eastern States. At present, the only route to this region from the rest of India is a rather circuitous one through a narrow strip of Indian territory nicknamed the Chicken’s Neck in West Bengal, sandwiched between Bhutan and Bangladesh. The new route through Sittwe would significantly lower the cost and distance of movement from Kolkata to Mizoram and beyond.