Chief of Navy Admiral Karambir Singh visits Myanmar

The Chief of Indian Navy Admiral Karamvir Singh is to visit Myanmar between February 17, 2020 and February 20, 2020. During his visit, he will hold discussions with his Myanmar counterpart to enhance bilateral maritime relations between the countries

Highlights

The Admiral is to interact with the trainees of the National Defence College in Nay Pyi Taw and will also visit Training command of Myanmar Navy.

Significance

It is important for India to strengthen its bilateral ties with Myanmar especially in the field of maritime because of strategic location of the country in Indian Ocean. Also, Myanmar is a member of Indian Ocean Naval Symposium.

Sittwe Port

India has constructed Sittwe port, a deep water port in Myanmar in 2016. The port along with the Kaladan Multi Modal Transit Project is considered as an alternate to access North East India. So far, the Siliguri corridor is the only way through which the Indian mainland is connected with the North East.

Therefore, it is important for India to secure the route to promote trade and transport through the route.

Indian Ocean Naval Symposium

The IONS is a series of biennial meeting among the states of Indian Ocean Region. The symposium acts as a forum to strengthen maritime security cooperation. It consists of 24 members and they are grouped into 4 sub regions. The South Asian Sub region includes India, Bangladesh, Maldives, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Seychelles. The West Asian Sub region includes Oman, Iran, Saudi Arabia and UAE. The East African Sub Region includes Kenya, Mauritius, France, South Africa, Mozambique, Eretria, Tanzania. The South East Asian and Australian Sub Region includes Australia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Timor Leste, Thailand, Singapore, Myanmar and Malaysia.

Month: Current Affairs - February, 2020