BACKGROUND: Since the February 2021 coup, there has been widespread resistance and unrest in Myanmar resulting in brutal crackdown and cycle of violence, orchestrated by the Military Junta. The clashes between Ethnic Armed Organisations (EAOs) and the Tatmadaw too have intensified significantly. Numerous EAOs, which have long sought greater autonomy, have either renewed hostilities or intensified existing conflicts against the Tatmadaw. Groups like the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), Karen National Union (KNU), and the Arakan Army (AA) have launched offensives, resulting in heavy casualties and displacement of civilians. The National Unity Government (NUG) of Myanmar, formed in response to the 2021 military coup, represents the ousted civilian government and aims to restore democracy. The NUG has garnered support from various Ethnic Armed Organisations (EAOs), particularly the Brotherhood Alliance, which includes the Arakan Army (AA), the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), to weed out the Junta. KALADAN PROJECT – CURRENT STATUS : The Kaladan Project once again is in news in India following the Arakan Army’s (AA) capture of Palette township in Chin state of Myanmar in the North Western region, near Mizoram border. The Kaladan Project is an ambitious collaborative infrastructure initiative between India and Myanmar aimed at enhancing regional connectivity. It involves developing a multi-modal transport system that includes a sea route from India’s eastern port of Kolkata to Myanmar’s Sittwe port, a river transport route along the Kaladan River from Sittwe to Paletwa in Myanmar, and a road network from Paletwa to India’s northeastern state of Mizoram. This project is intended to boost trade, economic development, and strategic ties between the two countries while providing an alternative route for India’s northeastern states to access the Bay of Bengal. As per the reports, in April 2023, the Indian side of the road connecting border town Zorinpui in Mizoram with Paletwe in Myanmar was almost complete. Subsequently, on May 9, 2024, the Kolkata-Sittwe part of the Kaladan Project was declared operational when the union ports, shipping and waterways minister, Sarbananda Sonowal virtually received the first Indian cargo ship sailing from Kolkata Port……
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