Different approaches to build connectivity in Myanmar: a case study of India’s Kaladan and China’s Kyaukphyu Projects

In the last two decades, a visible shift in power from the Euro-Atlantic to the Indo-Pacific induced by the rise of two Asian economies, India and China, has given rise to a new dimension of geo-political contestation in international politics particularly in the Indo-Pacific region. The most explicit form of this contestation can be seen in Myanmar where both countries have increased their footprints through investments in connectivity projects as a part of India’s Act East Policy and China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). In this context, the present paper has examined the strategic significance of India’s Kaladan and China’s Kyaukphyu connectivity projects located close to each other in Myanmar’s highly volatile Rakhine state. Conceived to address India’s Siliguri and China’s Malacca vulnerabilities, the Kaladan and the Kyaukphyu Projects have encountered challenges particularly in a post-coup Myanmar, marked by civil war between the Tatmadaw and the Ethnic Armed Organizations, particularly the Arakan Army. Furthermore, given its unique position as an entry point for both India and China into Southeast Asia, Myanmar is likely to encounter power contests within its territory. In the light of these developments, the paper has made a comparative analysis of both the endogenous and exogenous factors affecting the pace of the two projects. In doing so, the paper has explored the geopolitical ramifications of India’s Kaladan Project and China’s Kyaukphyu Project for Myanmar, in specific, and the Indo-Pacific region in general.