Tuesday, August 22 2006 11:41 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Guwahati: Spurred by the resumption of border trade between India and China across the ancient Silk Road, State Governments in the northeast have called for reopening of the historic World War II Stilwell Road to boost business with Southeast Asia.

"We want the Stilwell Road to be reopened to establish strong trade links between the northeastern region and South Asian countries like Myanmar, China, and Thailand," Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi told sources.

The historic 1,726 km road, built by the Allied and Chinese forces under the command of US Army General Joseph Stilwell, was used to transport the first supplies to the beleaguered Chinese Army during World War II in 1945 when Japanese troops invaded China.

The Stilwell Road starts at Assam, in the heart of India's northeast, and cuts through the Pangsau pass in Myanmar to Kunming in South China - touching almost all the important Southeast Asian capitals.

The Stilwell Road on the Indian side is about 61 km. The major stretch of 1,033 km lies within the jungle-covered mountains and swampy valleys of northern Myanmar's Kachin State, while in China it is 632 km.

"The stretch of road within Myanmar is still not developed and we are urging New Delhi to impress upon Yangon to take steps for reopening the Stilwell Road," Gogoi said.

The call for reopening the Stilwell Road follows resumption of trade between India and China last month across the 15,000-foot Nathu La Pass, east of Sikkim's capital Gangtok, as part of a broader rapprochement. The move marked the first direct trade link between the nuclear-armed neighbours since a bitter border war in 1962.

"Reopening the Stilwell Road would allow free trade, besides transforming the northeast as the gateway to Southeast Asian business centres," an Arunchal Pradesh government spokesperson said.

Almost all the regional governments are unanimous in their opinion on the issue. Following the signing of a trade agreement between India and Myanmar in 1995, border trade takes place on a daily basis only at Moreh in Manipur, the easternmost Indian border township.

Indian automobile components, fruits, grains, vegetables, textiles and cotton yarn find a strong demand in almost all neighbouring countries. In the other direction, Indian traders are strongly interested in importing electronic gadgets, synthetic blankets, teak, gold and semi-precious stones.

Assam, the gateway to the northeast, is about 2,000 km from the Indian capital New Delhi and some 3,000 km from the country's biggest commercial centre Mumbai.

Yangon, Bangkok and even some Chinese cities are much closer to most northeastern states than Delhi or Bombay.

For instance, Kunming in China is only 1,079 km from Ledo in Assam where the Stilwell Road begins.

The pushing for road links to Southeast Asia has got a fillip with experts pointing out that only 250 km of the northeast's 5,000 km outer perimeter touches India.

The remaining 4,750 km represents international boundaries with China, Myanmar, Bhutan, Bangladesh, China and Nepal.