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Indian government is set to persuade the members of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) with mega connectivity plans paving the way for a grand roadmap on maritime security and cooperation.
The 10 countries in the body will be given a detailed and elaborate presentation on India’s connectivity and maritime security plans.
ASEAN is increasingly seeking a greater security role to be played by India on large-scale connectivity amid the escalating aggressive posture that is being taken by China at the South China Sea.
The blueprint of ASEAN-India connectivity was prepared in 2010 when India pushed its ‘Look East’ policy under the previous government.
It was then continued by the present BJP government under the refurbished ‘Act East’ policy.
During the summit, the country’s Prime Minister Modi will give a detailed update on some of the construction activities that have been underway for a long time.
One such project is the India-Thailand trilateral highway that begins from Moreh in Manipur and ending in Bangkok by cutting through Myanmar.
According to BusinessLine, this is expected to be completed by 2020.
The highway is expected to be extended to Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam at a later stage.
Additionally, the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar (BCIM), which connects Kolkata, Dhaka, Silchar, Imphal, Mandalay, Boashan and Kunming and covering a total length of 2,800 km, is also part of the mega connectivity plan.
But these plans are small when compared to the $180-billion BRI project of China. Under the BRI, Beijing has made a multi-pronged strategy to have both surface as well as maritime connectivity.
China is building high-speed connectivity rail links in Malaysia, Lao PDR, Cambodia and Indonesia, apart from metro connectivity and other projects in Vietnam.