New Delhi: A joint operation by the Indian Army and their counterparts in Myanmar against the insurgent group Arakan Army along the Indo-Myanmar border last month has made them violent. They have in retaliation, caused massive damage to Myanmar forces and have even hampered the construction of key infrastructural project Kaladan.

Both the forces are contemplating a new flush-out operation against the Arakan army, which has reportedly killed over 40 Burmese soldiers recently. The Arakan Army has also targeted a vessel carrying raw materials for the Kaladan Project and destroyed it. This move came after almost two weeks after the long operation on the Indo-Myanmar border. The insurgent groups were allegedly trying to target the infrastructural project which intends to improve the connectivity of north-east India with Kolkata. Indian forces thwarted the efforts of the Arakan Army.

According to the reports, the Arakan Army has claimed that it killed 45 jawans of Myanmar Army in Mrauk-U and Paletwa in Rakhine. The Myanmar Army has confirmed the death of nine of its soldiers. The Army has also launched an aerial attack at several camps of the Arakan Army, and now they are seeking that emergency be declared in Rakhine. Arakan forces earlier also ambushed a cargo ship carrying 300 tons of steel intended to be used for the construction of the bridge as part of Kaladan project, while the ship was travelling from Sittwe, Rakhine State, to Paletwa.

Also read: Indian and Myanmar Army crush Arakan, Naga terrorists in secret joint op

According to intelligence officers, the Myanmar Army wants to impose an emergency in Rakhine state so that a major operation can be launched against the Arakan Army. It is suspected that the insurgent group is also being aided from abroad as they have been recently using modern arms and explosives against the Myanmar army. 

Earlier, a joint exercise -- Operation Sunrise-- by Indian and Myanmar forces began on February 17 in which the team targeted newly constructed camps set up by insurgent groups around the border areas of Mizoram. In the second phase, they destroyed terror camps of Naga terror group NSCN-K (Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland -Khaplang) around the Arunachal Pradesh border more than 1,000 kilometres away from the operation site in Mizoram.

Sources said that over a dozen Arakan Army camps were destroyed, but soldiers didn't cross international borders. Indians carried out the operation inside the country while the Burmese aggressively eliminated the Arakan Army in their territory. Despite this, the Arakan Army continues to attack Myanmar forces and remains a threat to the Kaladan project.

The Kaladan Multi-modal Transit Transport Project is one of the most significant projects undertaken by India and Myanmar. The project aims to provide an alternate outlet to the landlocked North East which is heavily dependent on the narrow ‘Chicken’s Neck’ at Siliguri.

The multi-crore project was under threat from the Arakan army which had made its base around the crucial areas closer to the project. The project is essential as it connects Kolkata to Sittwe port in Myanmar and improves the connectivity with other regions of the north-east. The project will also reduce the distance between Kolkata and Mizoram by nearly a thousand kilometres.