Towards seamless border connectivity in South Asia

In the South Asian region, borders are still the main culprit for the low level of integration. Freedom of movement of trade and transportation is limited in South Asia and the Bay of Bengal regions.

However, starting in the last decade, the change has started happening. Following the Bangladesh model, India has introduced massive reforms in border management since 2012. Border connectivity has helped mitigate disruptions since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

Not only at the borders, South Asian and Bay of Bengal countries have also introduced several behind the border trade and transport facilitation initiatives.

A safe and secure border is the sine qua non for enhanced trade and integration in South Asia and the Bay of Bengal. Seamless transportation requires connected borders. Proper management of borders is vital for national security. But, managing borders is not an easy task. There are many challenges in the areas of coordination, diplomatic, security, legal, regulatory, boundary disputes, to mention a few.

Multilateral trade facilitation initiatives over the past decade triggered border development in South Asia. Two agreements are worth noting: first, the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA), and, second, the United Nations Cross-border Paperless Trade Agreement (UN-CPTA).

The ratifications of the WTO TFA and UN-CPTA aimed at strengthening border connectivity through facilitating the electronic/paperless exchange of information along international supply chains. From South Asia, Bangladesh was the first country to ratify the UN-CPTA in 2021.

In order to encourage the cross-border movement of people and goods, some of the South Asian and Bay of Bengal countries have invested heavily in border connectivity (integrated check posts), transport (multimodal corridors) and trade facilitation (simplification of the trade procedures).

India, for example, has extended quite substantial resources for modernisation of border posts and streamlining border activities, particularly at the land borders, including aligning with the global practices. It has set up the Land Ports Authority of India (LPAI) through an Act in parliament in 2010 under the Ministry of Home Affairs.

So far, the LPAI has developed a total of nine ICPs: Attari, dealing with India's trade with Pakistan; Agartala, Petrapole, Srimantapur and Sutarkandi, all handling India's trade with Bangladesh; Raxaul and Jogbani, both handling India's trade with Nepal; and Moreh, which deals with India's trade with Myanmar. There are 14 new ICPs coming and the total number of ICPs is likely to touch 24 by 2030.

Bangladesh, the pioneer in border connectivity, has a set of 10 land ports in operation, of which four land ports are operated by the Bangladesh Land Port Authority (BLPA), such as the Benapole, Bhomra, Burimari and Akhaura.

Six land ports are operated by private operators at places like Banglabandha, Birol, Hilli, Bibir Bazar, Teknaf and Sonamosjid. Besides, 11 land ports are under development. Benapole is the country's biggest land port, followed by Burimari and Bhomra.

Similarly, Myanmar has 14 border posts dealing with trade and passengers with China, Thailand, India, Lao PDR and Bangladesh.

Nepal's NITDB (Nepal Intermodal Transport Development Board) manages the country's dry ports, ICDs and ICPs. It has 30 border crossing points with India and China. To date, two ICPs were completed at Birgunj and Biratnagar. Two more ICPs at Nepalgunj and Bhairahawa are under construction.

Bhutan has four major trade routes: Phuentsholing, Gelephu, Sandrup Jongkhar and Samtse. Phuentsholing is the largest route. The country has also set up a dry port in Phuentsholing.

In times of crisis, trade facilitation measures minimise the physical interactions at the border-crossing processes. Expediting standard formalities for the movement of goods not only reduces the time spent in physical interactions but also makes space and time for additional controls and sanitary measures required in light of Covid-19. India's ICP model offers many important lessons to other South Asian and Bay of Bengal countries as well as countries in the African continent.

There are many challenges in border connectivity.

Porous borders pose several non-traditional security threats such as illegal migration and informal trade, illegal flows of drugs, arms and ammunition smuggling. Many border posts face inadequate infrastructure in controlling the trade flows such as poor road connectivity and telecommunication, absence of banks and foreign exchange, manual handling of customs and cargoes, no electronic scanning of goods, and inadequate warehouses.

Another major threat to border connectivity is the lack of efficient customs operations, including a lack of transparency of procedures for inspection and informal payments. Many South Asian and Bay of Bengal countries do not have adequate legislation in managing border posts and no single agency to look after border management. A regional process for collaborative border management is yet to happen.

India's LPAI provides a wide range of security equipment like handheld metal detectors, door frame metal detectors, barriers and rotary mirrors, which discourage manual frisking and verification by security forces at land ports. Additionally, the LPAI is in the process of enhancing and upgrading cross-border trade infrastructure at land borders by providing access and surveillance control systems, full-body truck scanners for non-intrusive scanning and radiation detection equipment at its ICPs which shall considerably reduce dwell time at ports.

The application of digital technologies such as the Radio Frequency Identity (RFID) and the Electronic Cargo Tracking Management System (ECTS) in cargo management and artificial intelligence and robotics will strengthen the security, safety and connectivity at borders and beyond. The coordinated borders will also instil new momentum to building border economic zones (BEZs). Thailand offers many important lessons in BEZs.

The BIMSTEC Master Plan for Transport Connectivity, which has many border connectivity projects, is ready for implementation. Time is ripe for working towards coordinated border management.

A regional consultative process for border management in the Bay of Bengal region may be taken up. The Asean has adopted a framework known as the Asean Border Management Cooperation Roadmap to improve policy and practical collaboration to address transnational crime at and along borders.

The author is a professor of the Asean-India Centre, Research and Information System for Developing Countries, New Delhi. Views are the author's own.