Better Surveillance of the Indo-Myanmar Border

Context- The government has recently decided to construct a fence along the 1643-kilometer-long Indo-Myanmar border to facilitate better surveillance.

About

• Two pilot initiatives of fencing through a Hybrid Surveillance System (HSS) are under execution.
• The fencing can be completed within the subsequent 4-and-half years. Anyone coming through will have to get a visa.

Free Movement Regime

• The FMR is a collectively agreed association among the 2 countries that allows tribes residing along the border to journey up to 16 km in the other country  without a visa.
• Under the FMR, each member of the hill tribes, who’s either a citizen of India or a citizen of Myanmar and who is resident of any location within 160 km on both sides of the border can cross over on manufacturing of a border bypass with one-yr validity and can stay up to two weeks.

Borders in India

• India currently has more than 15000 km of land borders and more than 7500 km of maritime borders.
• It shares borders with seven countries consisting of Afghanistan, Pakistan, China, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Myanmar.

Border Management in India

• Border guarding responsibility initially was with the state forces post-independence, but the same was found insufficient to handle the challenges and threats.
• Central armed police forces (CAPFs) have been raised below the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and have been tasked to protect the borders under the control of the ministry.
• In case of active hostilities, the Army is given the responsibility to man the borders.

Need for Border Management

• India- Pakistan Border: The border with Pakistan has been a problematic one as per India’s independence.
  • Despite the accession of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) to India as consistent with the Indian Independence Act of 1947, Pakistan fought four conventional wars with India particularly in 1947-48, 1965, 1971 and 1999.
  • It has additionally been engaged in a proxy conflict as well both within the nation of J&K and Punjab.
  • The border is active in the form of LC in which the Army has been deployed similarly to the BSF.
• India- China Border: India has disputed borders with China in Ladakh, Middle Sector, and in Arunachal Pradesh. Despite many talks, little or no development has been made to solve the dispute.
• India-Bangladesh Border: The family members between India and Bangladesh were moving up and down primarily based on the government in power.
  • The present members of the family with Bangladesh are appropriate however Pakistani efforts to create a spiritual divide, Chinese inroads and presence of inimical elements have made the peace procedure liable to disruption.
• India-Bhutan Border: India is responsible for the defence of Bhutan and consequently responds to Chinese aggression even in Bhutan which occurred in Doklam in 2017.
  • The Chinese risk manifesting through Bhutan continually stays which raises the need to stabilize this border.
• India-Nepal Border: Due to close relations between India and Nepal, Nepalese working in the Indian Army as soldiers and porous border management stays a project.
  • Several Chinese activities in terms of infrastructure improvement and language centers have come up in Southern Nepal close to Indian borders.
  • Pakistan’s ISI is also using the porous nature of this border to infiltrate militants for anti-national activities in India.
• India-Myanmar Border: India and Myanmar share a massive land boundary with the northern end bordering China and the southern end bordering Bangladesh.
  • The border stays porous as neighborhood communities are divided into each side of the border.
  • The present day association additionally allows insurgents to have camps inside the dense jungles of Myanmar across the border.
  • There are massive refugees entering into the northeastern (NE) states, typically in Manipur.

Challenges In Managing the Borders

• Length and Diversity: India shares borders with more than one country totaling lots of kilometers.
  • Each of these borders has specific geographical functions, starting from mountains to rivers and plains, making powerful monitoring and control difficult.
• Porosity of Borders: Many components of India’s borders are porous, allowing unlawful crossings of people, goods, and contraband such as drugs and weapons.
  • The tough terrain, along with dense forests and riverine regions, facilitate such activities, posing a great undertaking to frame protection forces.
• Cross-Border Terrorism: India faces threats of cross-border terrorism, specially from Pakistan-based totally militant companies working in Jammu and Kashmir.
  • These organizations take advantage of the porous borders to infiltrate Indian territory and perform attacks, mainly to security concerns and tensions among the two nations.
• Transnational Crime: Transnational criminal activities, which include smuggling of narcotics, arms, and counterfeit forex, thrive along India’s borders.
• Ethnic and Tribal Dynamics: India’s border regions are often inhabited with the aid of various ethnic and tribal groups with historic, cultural, and social ties throughout borders.
  • Managing these communities’ aspirations, addressing their grievances, and preventing their exploitation through outside forces require nuanced procedures to border management.
• Dispute over Borders: India has unresolved border disputes with neighboring countries, maximum notably with China and Pakistan.
  • These disputes cause occasional tensions and confrontations, necessitating consistent vigilance and diplomatic efforts to keep peace and stability alongside the borders.
• Infrastructure Development: Many border areas in India lack fundamental infrastructure including roads, communique networks, and border outposts, hampering the effectiveness of border control efforts.
  • Developing infrastructure in these far flung and frequently inhospitable areas is essential for boosting surveillance abilities and reaction mechanisms.
• Humanitarian Concerns: India stocks borders with countries experiencing political instability, humanitarian crises, and refugee influxes.
  • Managing such situations even as upholding humanitarian ideas and worldwide responsibilities poses extra challenges for the border control government.

Conclusion

• Addressing those challenges requires a multi-pronged technique involving sturdy border surveillance and security features, superior cooperation with neighboring countries, diplomatic projects to remedy disputes, development of border infrastructure, and engagement with neighborhood groups to address their issues and aspirations.

Source: The Hindu

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