Building Roads to Myanmar

During the colonial period, the initial British strategy towards ensuring a secure eastern frontier involved the twin needs of drawing in the roving tribes of northeast India as well as keeping in check the ambitious designs of the kingdom of Burma. Later, the desire for a shorter land route to China led the British to explore opportunities to develop a road connectivity with regions to the southeast and further north. Its plans, however, were thwarted as in the early 20th century, southeast Asia became a buffer zone between two imperial rival interests - Britain and France. In more modern times, the government's "Look East" policy promises to rejuvenate old links between southeast Asia and northeast India and also holds out new avenues for trade and development.