Things seem to be falling into place for the ambitious and far sighted Look East policy championed by New Delhi during the last few years and the lifting of the restrictions on trade items between Myanmar and India is one of the more significant steps taken up to open India's door on the Eastern front.

The geo-political reality is one important factor for India to embark on the Look East policy for the fact stands that despite the much trumpeted Lahore bus service and the diplomatic attempts taken up to pave the way for friendly ties with India's immediate neighbour Pakistan on the Western front, there has been no significant step in the last few years.

Delhi has every reason to be interested on the Eastern region, particularly the North East region for a number of reason. In the first place, four States, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram share a long and porous border with Myanmar. Secondly, the region is important from the security point of view as Arunachal Pradesh shares the border not only with Myanmar but with China as well while the other North East States lie close to Myanmar.

The eastern front therefore needs to be on the radar of the Centre constantly. It is also true that India needs to look beyond Pakistan and the Western front, as the new mantra in South East Asia is today economic co-operation and therefore progress.

There is some very significant reason why the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) is today a formidable body, wielding enormous clout, economically and by extension politically too.

India as one of the nuclear powers in the world and with an eye on becoming a permanent member of the United Nations, needs to assert itself in its immediate neighbourhood and the best route is to look Eastward.

The announcement of Union Minister of State for Commerce Jairam Ramesh that the border trade with Myanmar through Moreh will now come without the baggage of restricting the trade items to 22, can therefore be seen not only as a decision strictly dictated by economic compulsions but by other factors such as the security of the country and to extend India's political clout to the South Eastern region of Asia.

The decision to free the border trade from any restrictions is therefore an important decision and while New Delhi must have minutely studied the likely outcome from such a policy, the situation also calls for some serious deliberations amongst the people of Manipur and the North East States, particularly amongst the intelligentsia.

What are the benefits that the people of Manipur and the North East can expect from the India's Look East policy is a fundamental question that is apt here. Ever since the then Union Commerce Minister P Chidambaram in the company of PA Sangma visited Moreh sometime in 1994/95 and announced the beginning of the border trade with Myanmar, there has been a marked change in the material consumption of the people.

Cheap but nevertheless extremely reliable and long lasting goods from Myanmar are being lapped up by the price conscious consumer and today the Indo-Myanmar trade has become the source of livelihood for many petty traders as well as the moneyed class.

However, as we have noted, economy and trade and commerce are not the only factors for India to look Eastward and it is also significant that Jairam Ramesh visited Moreh to announce the new policy even as the Defence Ministry recently informed this paper that a crackdown on North East militant camps based in Myanmar may be launched once the location of the camps are identified and the logistics support are available.