Beijing, June 16 (IANS): It is time for India, China and Myanmar to develop a joint dialogue mechanism for restoration of Stilwell Road, built during World War II that connects India's northeast with China via Myanmar, says an editorial in a leading Chinese daily.
"It is time for the three countries to deliberate over project," the editorial in the Global Times said, referring to the road built during the early 1940s, also called the Ledo Road. According to the daily, restoration of the Stilwell Road will revitalise the "promising path, which will interconnect Southwest China, South Asia and Southeast Asia, and merge the region into an emerging market", it says, adding that it would also benefit the ethnic groups living in the area.
According to the Global Times, China had completed the reconstruction of the section from Kunming to the Sino-Myanmese border, while Myanmar has also completed repair of its section to the Sino-Myanmese border with Chinese help. "However, the sections from Myanmar to India and within India are barely usable," it says. "India is worried about the reconstruction of the road for two reasons. First, the road starts from Assam, a state where local militants have become increasingly active. Second, China-made products can flood into the Indian market through the road," the editorial said.
But it says that India "has toned down the two concerns" as it has adopted a "Look East policy".
The 1,726-km-long Stilwell Road starts in Assam, India, and cuts through the Pangsau pass in Myanmar to Kunming in South China. It touches almost all the important Southeast Asian capitals.
The road was built by Chinese labourers, Indian soldiers and American engineers, and named after American General Joseph Stilwell who led the task and completed it in 1945 after three years of hard work. The Stilwell Road on the Indian side is about 61 km. The major stretch of 1,033 km lies within Myanmar, while the section in China is 632 km.
