FREE MOVEMENT REGIME (FMR) AGREEMENT WITH MYANMAR –
- India’s recent plans to review the Free Movement Regime (FMR) agreement with Myanmar and fence the India-Myanmar border have initiated discussions, especially in the northeastern states.
- The decision aims to address a complex intersection of historical, cultural, and security considerations.
- Much of India’s northeast region was under Burmese occupation until the Treaty of Yandaboo in 1826 established the current India-Myanmar boundary.
- The Treaty of Yandabo was signed by General Sir Archibald Campbell on behalf of the British and Governor of Legaing Maha Min Hla Kyaw Htin on behalf of the Burmese.
- It ended the First Anglo-Burmese War (1824-1826).
- However, the border separated communities with shared ethnicity and culture, including the Nagas in Nagaland and Manipur, as well as the Kuki-Chin-Mizo communities in Manipur and Mizoram, without their agreement.
- Currently, India and Myanmar share a 1,643 km border across Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh, of which only 10 km is fenced, in Manipur.
- The FMR was established in 2018 as part of India’s Act East policy, promoting cross-border movement up to 16 km without a visa. Individuals residing at the border need a one-year border pass for stays lasting up to two weeks in the neighbouring country.
- Concerns have arisen about the influx of illegal immigrants, particularly the Chin, Naga communities and Rohingyas from Myanmar, potentially straining resources and impacting local demographics.
- CORRUPTION PERCEPTION INDEX 2023 –
- Recently, the 2023 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) 2023 has been released by Transparency International showing that most countries have made little to no progress in tackling public sector corruption.
- The CPI ranks 180 countries and territories around the globe by their perceived levels of public sector corruption, scoring on a scale of 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean).
- Transparency International is an international non -governmental organisation founded in 1993 based in Berlin, Germany.
Key Highlights of the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) 2023-
- Over two-thirds of countries score below 50 out of 100, which strongly indicates that they have serious Corruption problems. The global average score is stuck at only 43, while the vast majority of countries have made no progress or declined in the last decade.
- Top Three Countries: Denmark with a score of 90 tops the index for the sixth consecutive year, with Finland and New Zealand following closely with scores of 87 and 85, respectively.
- Bottom Spots: Somalia, Venezuela, Syria, South Sudan and Yemen, with their scores 11, 13, 13, 13 respectively, take the bottom spots in the index.
- India was ranked 93 out of 180 countries on the CPI 2023. The overall score for India in 2023 was 39, a slight decrease from 40 in 2022. In 2022, India was ranked 85.
- Pakistan ranked 133 and Sri Lanka ranked 115 out of 180 countries, Bangladesh (ranked 149) China (ranked 76)
- RISING TENSIONS IN THE KOREAN PENINSULA –
- The ongoing tensions in the Korean peninsula have raised concerns about the deterioration of the international security environment.
- The Korean peninsula was divided into two by the end of World War II, after imperial Japan who occupied the territory was defeated.
- The North went under the ambit of the Soviet Union and the South under the U.S., resulting in the creation of two ideologically different regimes which mirrored either sides of the Cold War divide.
- The Korean war broke out as a result of the North’s attempt to take over the South — the first “hot war” of the Cold War.
- Today even after the cessation of active conflict and the end of the Cold War, the two countries are still divided over ideology and political leanings.
- The North Korea being an authoritarian dynastic regime allied with China and Russia, and the South Korea being a liberal democracy allied with the U.S.
- India’s role in the Korean war: During the War, both the warring sides accepted a resolution sponsored by India, and the ceasefire was declared on 27 July 1953 with the Korean Armistice Agreement.
- Over the past couple of decades, North Korea has demonstrated its nuclear weapons capability by testing several missiles.
- The key external stakeholders of the Korean peninsula are the very same nuclear powers who are locked in a global strategic competition — the U.S., China and Russia.