AGARTALA / NEW DELHI, June 19 (TIWN): Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the completion of the India-Myanmar-Thailand highway was New Delhi's priority to improve access to Southeast Asia."Connectivity is an important area and is our priority. It will help us improve access to Southeast Asia," Modi said in a joint statement with his Thailand counterpart Prayut Chan-o-cha, on a three-day visit to India. It is time for India, China and Myanmar to develop a joint dialogue mechanism for restoration of Stilwell Road, built during World War II that connects India's northeast with China via Myanmar, says an editorial in a leading Chinese daily. Stilwell road bears economic significance for South Asia, Southeast Asia and East Asia, the daily said. ‘We have prioritized the completion of the India-Myanmar-Thailand highway," Modi said. According to the Chinese daily, restoration of the Stilwell Road will revitalise the "promising path, which will interconnect Southwest China, South Asia and Southeast Asia, and merge the region into an emerging market", it says, adding that it would also benefit the ethnic groups, economic boost in Northeast region including Tripura.

According to the Global Times, China had completed the reconstruction of the section from Kunming to the Sino-Myanmese border, while Myanmar has also completed repair of its section to the Sino-Myanmese border with Chinese help.

"However, the sections from Myanmar to India and within India are barely usable. Some parts have already been deserted due to bad conditions," it says.

"India is worried about the reconstruction of the road for two reasons. First, the road starts from Assam, a state where local militants have become increasingly active. Second, China-made products can flood into the Indian market through the road," the editorial said.

But it says that India "has toned down the two concerns" as it has adopted a "Look East policy, and the process of advancing the strategy requires the stability of northern India, in which a well-functioning road system matters a lot".

According to the editorial, the Indian economy has entered a stage of rapid development, and its rich deposit of resources in northern India demands a convenient and efficient transport system to draw in more foreign investment. 

"A diversified investment environment will relieve India's worry about the influx of Chinese products," it further said.

The editorial went on to say that all three countries should set up a joint dialogue mechanism, in which concerns and problems can be put on the negotiating table, including how to make peace with ethnic insurgents, and to find out solutions together. 

It suggested that "Considering that China is a more developed country than India and Myanmar, it should play a major role in the reconstruction work".

The 1,726-km-long Stilwell Road starts in Assam, India, and cuts through the Pangsau pass in Myanmar to Kunming in South China. It touches almost all the important Southeast Asian capitals.

The road was built by Chinese labourers, Indian soldiers and American engineers, and named after American General Joseph Stilwell who led the task and completed it in 1945 after three years of hard work.

The Stilwell Road on the Indian side is about 61 km. The major stretch of 1,033 km lies within Myanmar, while the section in China is 632 km.

Myanmar has requested the International Labour Organisation (ILO) to open a country office in the Southeast Asian country, the Confederation of the Trade Union of Myanmar (CTUM) said on Sunday.