REIMAGINING BIMSTEC STRENGTHENING REGIONAL SOLIDARITY ACROSS THE BAY OF BENGAL EDITORS RAKHAHARI CHATTERJI ANASUA BASU RAY CHAUDHURY © 2021 Observer Research Foundation All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without permission in writing from ORF. Attribution: Rakhahari Chatterji and Anasua Basu Ray Chaudhury (Editors), Reimagining BIMSTEC: Strengthening Regional Solidarity Across the Bay of Bengal, February 2021, Observer Research Foundation. Observer Research Foundation 20 Rouse Avenue, Institutional Area New Delhi 110002 India [email protected] www.orfonline.org ORF provides non-partisan, independent analyses and inputs on matters of security, strategy, economy, development, energy and global governance to diverse decision makers (governments, business communities, academia and civil society). ORF’s mandate is to conduct in-depth research, provide inclusive platforms, and invest in tomorrow’s thought leaders today. Editing and Production: Vinia Datinguinoo Mukherjee and Preeti Lourdes John Design and layout: Rahil Miya Shaikh ISBN: 978-81-948115-0-3 CONTENTS FOREWORD 7 M. Shahidul Islam PREFACE 9 Sunjoy Joshi ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 11 INTRODUCTION 12 Rakhahari Chatterji and Anasua Basu Ray Chaudhury SECTION 1 HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL LINKAGES 21 Looking East: A Brief History of 22 Connections in the Bay of Bengal Region Ronojoy Sen Cultural Linkages through Popular 29 Interactions: Written Testimonies in Colonial-Era Vernacular Periodicals Sarvani Gooptu Incredible India and Marvellous Myanmar: 38 Prospects in Cultural Tourism Lipi Ghosh Revitalising BIMSTEC through Cultural 52 Connectivity from Northeast India C. Joshua Thomas SECTION 2 CONNECTING NATIONS 60 BIMSTEC and Regional Connectivity: 61 Opportunities for Bangladesh Ashish Banik Towards a Tech-Driven BIMSTEC: Prospects 70 and Challenges Soumya Bhowmick and Pratnashree Basu Strengthening Connectivity in BIMSTEC 81 Nisha Taneja and Samridhi Bimal Understanding Myanmar’s Role in 92 BIMSTEC Connectivity K. Yhome From Words to Action: Creating a BIMSTEC 101 for the Future Sujeev Shakya Towards Greater BIMSTEC Cooperation: The 106 Need for Values Connectivity Robin Ramcharan SECTION 3 MARITIME ORDER, CONNECTIVITY, 117 AND BLUE ECONOMY Connecting the Coasts: The BIMSTEC 118 Experience P.V. Rao Understanding the Global Shipping industry 126 and Connectivity in the Indian Ocean Rohan Masakorala Blue Economy in the Bay of Bengal 134 Abhijit Singh SECTION 4 CLIMATE CHANGE AND 145 DISASTER MANAGEMENT BIMSTEC: Finding a Coordinated Approach 146 to Climate Change Runa Sarkar Climate Change in the BIMSTEC 154 Region: Responding to Rising Sea Levels Anamitra Anurag Danda Climate Change, Disaster Management 173 and BIMSTEC K.M. Parivelan SECTION 5 ANALYSING HUMAN CAPITAL 185 Reimagining BIMSTEC’s Health Futures 186 Oommen C. Kurian Education as a Pivot in India’s Cooperation 197 with BIMSTEC Countries Vivek Mishra and Suranjan Das Gender Issues in BIMSTEC 209 Amena Mohsin Trafficking of Women, Precarity, 222 and BIMSTEC Anasua Basu Ray Chaudhury COVID -19 and the Changing Geopolitical 232 Order: Challenges to BIMSTEC Pinak Ranjan Chakravarty 242 SECTION 6 ENHANCING TRADE Enhancing Trade in the BIMSTEC Region 243 Damaru Ballabha Paudel Rethinking Enhanced Trade Within 253 BIMSTEC: An ASEAN Perspective Suthiphand Chirathivat Trade and Investment in BIMSTEC: 261 Challenges and Opportunities Nilanjan Ghosh SECTION 7 THE INDO-PACIFIC 271 The Bay of Bengal in the Emerging 272 Indo-Pacific C. Raja Mohan BIMSTEC’s Future within the Geostrategic 279 Narrative of the ‘Indo-Pacific’ Gareth Price BIMSTEC Plus: Towards a Bay of Bengal 285 Community Sohini Bose and Sohini Nayak BIMSTEC: Regionalism, Connectivity and 296 Geopolitics Christian Wagner SECTION 8 THE MEDIA 304 BIMSTEC and the Role of Media 305 Bertil Lintner Developing a Role for the Media in BIMSTEC 313 Haroon Habib Encouraging Media Development and 320 Cooperation in the BIMSTEC Region Subir Bhaumik Finding Solutions to BIMSTEC Region’s 325 Challenges: How the Media Can Help Tshering Dorji Resurrecting BIMSTEC through the Media 330 Chandani Jayatilleke ABOUT THE EDITORS 337 FOREWORD wish to express my sincere gratitude to the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) for taking the initiative to publish this volume of essays on strengthening BIMSTEC solidarity, as part of the Kolkata Colloquium that it organised in November 2019 Iin collaboration with the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, New Delhi, the Centre for New Economic Diplomacy, and the UK’s Department for International Development. The Kolkata Colloquium brought together a large number of eminent scholars, academics, journalists, and diplomats who take keen interest in the activities of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) which began its journey in 1997 to promote regional cooperation among the littoral and adjacent countries of the Bay of Bengal. BIMSTEC brings together five countries from South Asia and two countries from Southeast Asia to strengthen economic and physical connectivity to enhance regional trade, investment, travel, technology, energy trade and other exchanges. The forum also seeks to address, through joint efforts, common vulnerabilities including poverty, natural disasters, climate change, pandemics, terrorism and transnational crimes, and food security. The discussions at the Kolkata Colloquium helped identify the strengths and weaknesses of BIMSTEC and advocated for the organisation to strengthen cooperation and translate their political commitment to concrete programmes Foreword and projects that will produce tangible economic benefits for the peoples of the region. Needless to say, the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our peoples’ health, economies and societies has created a renewed sense of urgency for leveraging geographical advantage and available resources in the BIMSTEC region to spur economic activities and address vulnerabilities in the post-COVID 19 recovery and rehabilitation process. I am confident that this publication will serve as a valuable reference for the BIMSTEC governments as well as other stakeholders who are the driving force behind the slow but steady progress of regional integration process in the Bay of Bengal region under the framework of BIMSTEC. M. Shahidul Islam Secretary General, BIMSTEC December 2020 8 PREFACE onnectivity—critical to building communities and societies, and for their economic and social development—has always been central to human enterprise. Sadly for South Asia, however, the region’s history of colonisation turned Cconnectivity on its head, making it a predatory exercise that disrupted the vibrant cultural, economic and social linkages that had sustained this part of the world for centuries. Even as the previous century saw the region emerge into a modern community of nations, both the renewal of old networks and the establishment of meaningful new networks became subservient to more immediate national concerns. Regional groupings like BIMSTEC are therefore significant attempts at reinvigorating the economic and social life of a region that has essentially been part of an integrated network. As a bridge between two vibrant regions, South Asia and South East Asia, BIMSTEC offers the institutional basis through which countries can undertake efforts towards the enhancement of connectivity for regional development. By facilitating dialogue and creating opportune environments and institutions for cross-border cooperation, organisations like BIMSTEC are uniquely poised to further multiple interactions that stand to create an impact on all dimensions of human endeavour. It is from this perspective that Observer Research Foundation has taken this initiative to uncover the various facets of connectivity in the Bay of Bengal region under the purview of Kolkata Colloquium 2019: Reimagining BIMSTEC. Preface The volume in your hands is a result of those deliberations. Asia is at a crossroads: It is a dynamic region, powered by the energy of its youth. At the same time, it confronts a moment in history being defined by serious disruptions caused not only by technology, but by a massive pandemic that has hobbled even the strongest and most powerful of nations. How do nations, economies, and societies adapt to both the most primeval and the most modern technology-induced transformations? In a world where multilateralism is seeing signs of flailing, can regional institutions such as BIMSTEC step up to serve as vanguards of efforts to respond to these unprecedented challenges? Can such regional institutions help catalyse the latent potential of individual countries towards achieving collective goals? This volume of essays cuts across various issues related to politics, society, economy, culture, public health, connectivity and strategy. It is an attempt to understand BIMSTEC and help determine its potential. I have no doubt that this volume will make a significant 10 contribution to the larger focus on a sustainable future for the BIMSTEC countries. Sunjoy Joshi Chairperson, Observer Research Foundation December 2020 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS his collection is a result of an international conference entitled “Reimaging BIMSTEC,” held on 28-29 November 2019 in Kolkata, West Bengal as part of Kolkata Colloquium 2019. Observer Research Foundation (ORF). Kolkata Tchapter organised this flagship programme in collaboration with Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS), New Delhi and Centre for New Economic Diplomacy