Bangladesh News Bangladesh Foreign Affairs

[Isa Khan]

By HTET NAING ZAW 28 September 2020

Naypyitaw — The Bangladeshi military has deployed troops in Cox’s Bazar District in southeastern Bangladesh along Myanmar’s border, according to Myanmar’s security sources.

The sources, who did not want to be named, reported seeing Division 10 along the border increasing in size since Sept. 25 with 155mm rocket launchers, shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles and anti-aircraft machine guns.

Myanmar’s military spokesman, Major General Zaw Min Tun, said Myanmar’s armed forces were taking action to maintain border security without affecting bilateral military relations.

Myanmar’s military has recently beefed up security along the border, citing increased activities by the Arakan Army (AA) and Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA).

On Sept. 13, the Bangladeshi foreign ministry summoned Myanmar’s ambassador in Dhaka and expressed concerns about the border deployments. It also sent a complaint to the United Nations Security Council on Sept. 15.

Bangladesh said in its complaint that it was concerned more refugees may flee over the border, due to the activities by ground forces and naval patrols close to the border with audible gunshots from Myanmar’s territory.

Myanmar’s military only increased border patrols for security but did not deploy extra troops, Maj-Gen Zaw Min Tun said during an online press conference on Saturday.

“There have been increased activities by the AA and ARSA along the border in Buthidaung and Maungdaw townships. While we have stepped up security measures, [Bangladesh] has openly raised objections. And it has also filed a complaint with the UN. So we have suspicions that it has a hidden agenda,” Maj-Gen Zaw Min Tun said.

Myanmar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the Bangladeshi ambassador in Yangon to say the military operations were not intended to threaten Bangladesh but part of the normal security operations in Rakhine State.

Rakhine affairs analyst U Maung Maung Soe said: “Bangladesh seems to have concerns when Myanmar’s troops came very close. It won’t say anything if Myanmar’s navy patrols on the Mayu River but it appears the navy patrolled on the Naf River, which marks the border. Bangladesh might be concerned that more Muslim refugees will flee due to the activities.”

Despite the rumors of close links between the AA and ARSA — both of which operate along the Bangladeshi border — no evidence has been presented, he added.

The military has labeled both the AA and ARSA as terrorist organizations. The AA is currently engaged in ongoing fighting with Myanmar’s military in northern Rakhine.

The ARSA launched a series of attacks on security outposts in northern Rakhine on Aug. 25, 2017, killing 12 security personnel. The attacks prompted the military to carry out clearance operations that forced an estimated 730,000 Rohingya into neighboring Bangladesh. Myanmar has since come under international pressure over the mass exodus of Rohingya.

Bangladesh Deploys Troops on Myanmar’s Border

Bangladeshi deployments appear to be in response to increased activity by Myanmar’s military along the border, saying it is cracking down on “terror” groups.

www.irrawaddy.com

 

[Isa Khan]

Bangladesh is at risk of becoming a party to a new cold war unless the country maintains a neutral position keeping strategic affairs and national interests in consideration amid the growing rivalries of India, United States and Japan with China, foreign policy and defence strategists said.

There are some risks of becoming part of a new cold war if Bangladesh participates actively in the disputes — be that regional or global, former foreign secretary Md Touhid Hossain told New Age on September 26, speaking on India’s plan to engage Japan in taking joint projects in Bangladesh and Myanmar.

Indian minister of external affairs S Jaishankar said that India and Japan are looking at the possibility of cooperating on projects in Bangladesh and Myanmar as part of their efforts to work together in third countries, according to Hindustan Times.

The India-Japan Act East Forum, which focuses on specific projects in India’s north-eastern region, also has a larger significance for connectivity with Bangladesh and Myanmar, he said during a virtual event in New Delhi on September 16. ‘We have done a little bit of that in Sri Lanka and I think today we are trying to see whether we can cooperate and coordinate more closely in Bangladesh and Myanmar,’ the Indian minister said.

Jaishankar’s remarks assume significance against the backdrop of the efforts by several countries — India, Australia, Japan and the United States — to forge new partnerships with countries on the rims of the Indian and Pacific oceans styled as Indo-Pacific Strategy in the face of China’s ‘growing activities’ across the regions, according to Hindustan Times.

‘Bangladesh has so far maintained neutrality in the China-India faceoff,’ said Touhid Hossain.

Expressing his doubts about whether the Myanmar authorities would engage in projects brokered by India with funds from Japan, he said, ‘Why would Myanmar engage in India-Japan joint initiatives when it is unilaterally attracting huge direct investment and funds from Japan?’

Touhid believes that the joint offer from India and Japan might provide Myanmar scopes for pursuing a hard bargain with China that might go against Bangladesh’s interests.

‘China is dependent on Myanmar for directly accessing the Bay of Bengal in the shortest possible way for energy imports and other reasons,’ he explained.

Describing Bangladesh as a ‘peripheral player,’ he said, ‘It was important to remain alert of which parties the government would support according to its strategy.’

The US defence secretary Mark Esper on September 11 spoke with Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina over phone and discussed ‘a free and open Indo-Pacific that ensures the sovereignty of all nations, besides some specific bilateral defence priorities including maritime and regional security,’ according to a press release of the US Department of Defence.

Bangladesh Institute of Peace & Security Studies president ANM Muniruzzaman believes that the India-Japan plan for jointly engaging in Bangladesh and Myanmar ‘is a part of a broader move to activate the Indo-Pacific Strategy’ of the four countries, which is called the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue or the Quad and is led by the United States and also involved Australia.

Bangladesh could think of engaging in the IPS if it was a benign development programme, he told New Age on September 26, emphasising the importance of a deeper consideration to assess whether the IPS was floated to exclude China.

‘Bangladesh should pursue an equidistant policy on the matter as we should not do things that may disturb our relations with China, a strategic partner,’ said Muniruzzaman, a retired major general of the Bangladesh Army.

Bangladesh needs to be extra careful as it is also a participant of the Belt and Road Initiative, he added.

Mentioning the recent faceoff in Ladakh border, he said Bangladesh should see and assess things through critical lenses as Sino-India rivalry has reached at a high point now in four decades.

He also pointed out that Bangladesh need to keep an eye on the eastern border of Bangladesh where Myanmar mobilised troops with heavy weapons. ‘Situation along the Myanmar border has become rather fluid,’ the defence strategist added.

‘It is quiet usual that both India and the USA would try to engage Bangladesh in the IPS,’ security analyst M Sakhawat Hussain told New Age on September 23.

Sakhawat, a retired brigadier general of Bangladesh Army, also believes that the Indian idea for engaging Japan in projects in Bangladesh and Myanmar carries significance in the contexts of recent conflicts between China and India, tension in South China Sea and engagement of India and Japan in the IPS as part of their evident efforts to contain China, the economic giant.

Bangladesh has been trying to remain neutral in China-India feud although China has huge engagements in terms of development assistance and trade, while the Indian government has become active in eliminating Chinese influence in countries encircling India — Bhutan, Bangladesh, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal and Sri Lanka, he said.

‘No country comes forward without their own strategic and economic interests,’ he said, adding that India, Japan, the US and China could not resolve the Rohingya crisis for Bangladesh by ensuring repatriation of the 1.1 million displaced members of the community back to their homeland in Rakhine of Myanmar.

Wrong moves sometimes jeopardise strategic relations between countries, experts said.

On Joining Indo-Pacific Strategy, foreign minister AK Abdul Momen said Bangladesh will effectively engage in any future Indo-Pacific Alliance if it is found to be purely economic in nature.

Bangladesh has already joined China’s BRI, he said.

The Indian and Japanese authorities are yet to send any specific proposal on joint projects to the Bangladesh government, diplomatic sources confirmed.

The Ganges Barrage project was abandoned allegedly under pressure from India, a more than strategic partner, said several serving senior diplomats, arguing that the government hardly keeps scopes for negotiating things as ‘most decisions come from the political high-ups’.

A senior Bangladesh ambassador said, ‘The government should not lease out Bangladesh’s bilateral relations with Japan to India.’

UN secretary general Antonio Guterres on September 21, called for a halt to conflicts and focus on common problems like the coronavirus pandemic. ‘We must do everything to avoid a new cold war,’ he said opening UN General Assembly general debate marking the organisation’s 75th anniversary, according to Deutsche Welle.

Bangladesh may get caught in new cold war

Bangladesh is at risk of becoming a party to a new cold war unless the country maintains a neutral position keeping strategic affairs and national...

www.newagebd.net

 

[Micheal Corleone]

Bangladesh will eventually need to choose a side or it will left to irrelevance it faced amid rohynga crisis. economic benefits should be the main concerns for such ties

 

[Isa Khan]

Bangladesh was ‘outraged’ to witness another ‘blatant demonstration of falsehood and fabrication of facts’ by Myanmar in the ongoing United Nations General Assembly and shared the situation on the ground before the international community.

‘Bangladesh strongly rejects baseless accusations and falsification and misrepresentation of facts that Myanmar made in the UNGA,’ a senior official in Dhaka told the news agency conveying what Bangladesh exactly responded to Myanmar’s propaganda.

Bangladesh, through the UN, has urged the Myanmar government to abandon its policy of lies and propaganda and demonstrate genuine political will to take back their own nationals with safety, security and dignity, said the official.

Myanmar at the UNGA claimed that Bangladesh was harbouring terrorists in Cox’s Bazar Rohingya camps but it rejected such ‘baseless’ allegations.

Bangladesh, under the leadership of prime ministerSheikh Hasina, maintains a zero-tolerance policy to terrorism, terrorists financing, and other drivers of terrorism, said another official.

‘We don’t allow our territory to be used by any terrorist. Myanmar needs to look at its own mirror,’ the official said, mentioning that this is what Bangladesh’s reply to Myanmar during the general debate at the UNGA.

Bangladesh also pointed out ‘concocted and misleading’ statement of Myanmar on the development in Rakhine State, particularly in the repatriation process.

Myanmar’s minister Kyaw Tint Swe, in his speech at the UNGA, on Tuesday said that bilateral cooperation was the only way to effectively resolve the repatriation issue between Bangladesh and Myanmar.

Bangladesh strongly disagreed on such a notion reminding Myanmar that the Rohingya issue was not a bilateral one but it was Myanmar’s internal problem.

Bangladesh highlighted Myanmar’s track record of inhumane treatment of ethnic minorities, including Rohingyas, saying it was nothing new for Myanmar.

Bangladesh said that it was Myanmar’s state policy of deliberate exclusion and persecution on their own people that instigated insurgency and turned Myanmar into the breeding ground of organised crimes.

Bangladesh took the floor to reply Myanmar’s ‘propaganda’ and said that a deadly conflict is going on in Rakhine State ignoring the UN call for ceasefire simply to implement Myanmar’s ‘genocide campaign’ against its own people, said the official.

Bangladesh provided temporary shelter to over 1.1 million forcibly displaced Myanmar Nationals.

More than three years have elapsed but regrettably, not a single Rohingya could be repatriated.

‘The problem was created by Myanmar and its solution must be found in Myanmar. I request the international community to play a more effective role for a solution to the crisis,’ said prime minister Sheikh Hasina in her 75th UNGA speech.

During the general debate, Bangladesh mentioned that the conditions in Rakhine State were so bad that not a single Rohingya wanted to return to Myanmar voluntarily.

Bangladesh called upon Myanmar to open up Rakhine to international organisations, UN and media to observe the situation on the ground.

Officials said that Myanmar’s ‘unsubstantiated claims and undue accusations’ against Bangladesh were part of their efforts to avoid their obligations for Rohingya repatriation.

Bangladesh made it clear in the general debate that Myanmar had no intention to implement the repatriation deal signed with Bangladesh.

The Myanmar side acknowledged at the UN that bilateral repatriation had not yet started but claimed that more than 350 Rohingyas from camps in Cox’s Bazar district had returned to Myanmar’s Rakhine State.

Bangladesh raised questions over Myanmar’s such claim and wanted to know the whereabouts of those returnees.

‘Who are those 350 people? Where are they now? Are they living at their homes in safety and security?’ Bangladesh wanted to know from Myanmar if they returned to Myanmar at all.

Bangladesh had sought genuine efforts from the Myanmar government and take back their nationals.

‘Myanmar should take visible action not just seeking the attention of the international community,’ said an official.

Bangladesh conveyed the UN that Myanmar must address the real causes and it was not Bangladesh’s responsibility to keep bearing Myanmar’s burden again and again. ‘Myanmar needs to have genuine intent and political will to address the problem,’ said the official.

Bangladesh conveyed it to the UN during general debate that Rohingyas did not want to return to Myanmar because they did not trust the Myanmar government.

Two repatriation attempts were failed in November 2018 and August 2019.

Bangladesh highlighted the accountability issue and referred to the recent developments at the International Court of Justice.

Bangladesh also mentioned that the whole world watched the horrors and brutality by the Myanmar security forces on Rohingyas.

‘We opened the border and saved lives. We acted in good faith,’ an official quoted a Bangladesh diplomat as saying in the general debate.

Myanmar said that they shared the concern over allegations of human rights violations in Rakhine and take them seriously.

Aung San SuuKyi, the state counsellor of Myanmar told a public hearing at the ICJ in December 2019 that if war crimes or human rights violations were committed, they will be investigated and prosecuted by Myanmar’s criminal justice system.

But there has been no serious effort by Myanmar on that particular front, the Bangladesh side said.

Bangladesh said that still Rohingyas are coming to Bangladesh amid violence in Rakhine State and Myanmar keeps distorting facts to justify its genocidal acts.

Holding perpetrators of the atrocities committed against the Rohingya people in Rakhine state to account wouldcontribute to giving the Rohingyas the confidence to return home, diplomats stationed in Dhaka said.

Bangladesh and Myanmar signed the repatriation deal on November 23, 2017.

On January 16, 2018, Bangladesh and Myanmar signed a document on ‘Physical Arrangement’, which was supposed to facilitate the return of Rohingyas to their homeland.

Bangladesh ‘outraged’ by Myanmar fabricating facts at UNGA

Bangladesh was ‘outraged’ to witness another ‘blatant demonstration of falsehood and fabrication of facts’ by Myanmar in the ongoing United Nations General Assembly and shared...

www.newagebd.net

 

[Isa Khan]

Recently in a tweet, Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi complained that Prime Minister Narendra Modi “has destroyed the web of relationships that the Congress built and nurtured over several decades”. He then added rather vaguely that “living in a neighbourhood with no friends is dangerous”. In support of his claim, he posted a screen shot of the headline of an Economist article. The headline ran, “As Bangladesh’s relations with India weaken, ties with China strengthen”.

Not wanting to miss a good opportunity to belittle his rival, Gandhi was careful not to include the subheading of the article: “But the government [of Bangladesh] is keen to string both Asian giants along.” Indeed, the point about Bangladesh’s “balancing act” between India and China is the key premise of the Economist article. But this was seemingly lost on the 40,000 who gave it likes, and the more than 11,000 who retweeted his alarmist message.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1308611097440600064

Gandhi was not alone. “India bids to head off China in Bangladesh”, “Bangladesh signals shift towards China“ or “China takes Bangladesh into its embrace now as Delhi-Dhaka ties go downhill“ are but three of the many news reports and analyses underlining the same message.

The claims are not entirely without justification. In 2016, China and Bangladesh signed MoUs valued at $24 billion for Bangladesh. China has already “invested $10 billion in in power and infrastructure projects” in Bangladesh, and it is the largest arms exporter to the country. And as the Economist observed, China is now the number-one source of foreign direct investment in Bangladesh.

Supporters of the “Bangladesh is shifting to China” theory also point out that Bangladesh recently sought US$1 billion from China to better manage the water of the Teesta river. The Teesta runs from India into Bangladesh, and the sharing of its water has been a contentious issue for many years.

While these points are important, the problem with such analysis is, as recently pointed out, it downplays the fact that Bangladesh is fully capable of acting in its own self-interest. It is an independent country, and while perhaps weak in comparison to India and China, it still has the third most powerful military in South Asia, a resilient economy which is projected to recover quickly after Covid-19, and it is ruled by a smart government which even after a rigged election, a persistent record of human rights abuses and suppression of opposition, remains friendly with the great powers.

The point to underline is that the current government does not downplay the value of India’s friendship even in its relations with China, and it is not so naive as to underappreciate China.

One key to the strength of this tripartite relationship is geography and geopolitics. India and Bangladesh share one of the largest land borders in the world. Bangladesh is practically surrounded by India, while India’s communication with its own northeast is much assisted by transport across Bangladeshi territory. For India, Bangladesh is a country that it must have as a friend, not a foe, and vice versa for Bangladesh.

But that same logic doesn’t hold for China.

Bangladesh occupies an unfortunate piece of geography, in that it offers very little from a strategic point of view. If China were to spend large sums of money and goodwill on unseating India in Bangladesh, it would achieve very little except to antagonise India. China is already a friend of Myanmar, meaning access to gas fields in the Bay of Bengal and possibly a Belt and Road connection from southern China into the Bay, bypassing all of Southeast Asia. China already has a port in Sri Lanka. And it is investing heavily in Pakistan. If it is friendly votes in UN that Beijing wants, it is much cheaper to “buy” friendship in Micronesia or the Caribbean – which it already is doing.

Pakistan is more interesting for China. It is strategically positioned on the Arabian Sea, close to Hormuz, and it borders Iran, Afghanistan and India, as well as China. Pakistan is a lethal source of jihadist militancy and crucial to watch for spillover into Xinjiang province. Pakistan is also a player in Arab and Muslim politics. And it is a nuclear power.

Bangladesh is none of those things.

Bangladesh has too much to lose by taking China’s side in this great power game. It would antagonise the US, India, Australia and Japan in their recently reconstituted “Quad” – a consequence that would hurt Bangladesh economically and politically, since the US and the EU are major destinations for Bangladesh’s billion-dollar garment export industry, while Japan and Australia have supported Bangladesh’s infrastructure and social development. At the same time, Bangladesh would not want to antagonise China.

The best bet for Bangladesh, then, is to keep playing the balancing act between these big powers. Meanwhile, however, the real worry for the country is the Rohingya refugee crisis. The million-strong refugee influx could pose a serious threat to its future stability and internal security. Evidence now suggests that some of these great powers are using the Rohingya refugee crisis to put Bangladesh under pressure and placate Myanmar. Geo-strategically, even for friends of Bangladesh, Myanmar is far more interesting.

Bangladesh’s balancing act between great powers

For all the talk of a China-India contest, Bangladesh offers very little from a strategic point of view.

www.lowyinstitute.org

 

[Gary]

Bangladesh is I believe on the right track, with no geo-strategic cards to play, Bangladesh must seek a win win solutions from the West,India and China without antagonizing anyone.
This way Bangladesh will have more investment from China, infrastructure and social support from Japan and Canada and maybe in the future, diversify it's economy into a manufacturing leaning one by securing factory relocations from China like what Vietnam is mainly doing now.

I read somewhere that Bangladesh had already overtook Pakistan in nominal GDP and this is mainly from garment exports.

 

[Bilal9]

Tuesday, October 13, 2020

Government unwilling to engage in int’l rivalries: FM​

Diplomatic Correspondent | Published at 01:38am on October 13, 2020


The Bangladesh government is unwilling to engage in rivalries among powerful countries at both international and regional levels, foreign minister AK Abdul Momen said on Monday.

‘We don’t want to engage in rivalries,’ the minister told reporters at his office in view of the move of four countries for expediting the Indo-Pacific Strategy and a scheduled visit of a US deputy secretary to Bangladesh.

On elements of the Indo-Pacific Strategy, propagated by the United States with participation of India, Japan and Australia, Momen said that Bangladesh was interested only in development aspect of the IPS.

‘They have to come up with infrastructure development. They have to invest money. Only talking would not do,’ he said.

US deputy secretary of state Stephen E Biegun is scheduled to reach Dhaka on a three-day official visit today to discuss the Indo-Pacific Strategy among other issues.

Stephen is scheduled to hold bilateral talks with his Bangladesh counterpart, state minister for foreign affairs M Shahriar Alam, tomorrow.
He would call on prime minister Sheikh Hasina and foreign minister AK Abdul Momen on Thursday.

The Indo-Pacific Strategy, trade, including US defence articles’ sales, and COVID-19 pandemic are likely to be in the US agenda, while the Bangladesh side may prefer to talk on attracting US investment and getting greater market access and technical know-how for agriculture, according to diplomatic sources on both sides.

‘They [US] want to sell defence articles,’ the foreign minister said.

They could extend a moratorium on duties on imports from Bangladesh, including RMG products, for three years, he said.

The minister also stressed the need for an end to visa discrimination by the US for Bangladeshi students.

Indian and Pakistani students are getting US visas, while Bangladeshi students are kept waiting for long in spite of confirmation of their admission to US educational institutions, he added.

Stephen was scheduled to reach New Delhi on Monday, starting his five-day tour in India and Bangladesh.

‘It is understandable that the focus of his visit is India,’ a senior Bangladesh official said, indicating to the US presidential elections that will take place in three weeks.

Bangladesh is at risk of becoming a party to international and regional rivalry unless the country maintains a neutral position, keeping strategic affairs and national interests in consideration amid the growing rivalries among countries like India, China, the United States, Australia and Japan, Bangladeshi foreign policy and defence analysts believe.

 

[Isa Khan]

Tensions between Beijing and Washington continue to spiral over China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to establish connectivity and an international economic region. And the COVID-19 outbreak has added another dimension to these tensions. China is steadily securing its influence in an increasing number of countries through various forms of cooperation, including the COVID-19 vaccine.

Under the circumstances, Washington is placing importance on its relations with countries of South Asia, including India and Bangladesh. The visit of US deputy secretary of state Stephen Biegun is being regarded by analysts as a part of these efforts.

Biegun’s visit to Dhaka and Delhi is seen as a lead-in to next week’s visit by the US secretary of state Mike Pompeo to Sri Lanka, India and the Maldives.

During his Dhaka visit, Stephen Biegun said the US considers Bangladesh to be an important partner among the countries of the Asia and Pacific Ocean region. That is why Bangladesh is at the centre of US’ initiatives to strengthen its relations in the region. He naturally discussed the Indo-Pacific Strategy (IPS) during his Dhaka trip as the US is interested in Bangladesh’s active participation on the initiative. Speaking to newsmen in Dhaka, Biegun said he had made it clear to the leadership that US attached importance to Delhi and Dhaka among the countries in the Indo-Pacific region.

Whether the US admits it or not, IPS has been taken up to counter China’s BRI which aims at establishing connectivity with around 70 countries including Bangladesh through infrastructure and also setting up an international economic region.
The US drew up its national security strategy in 2017, and began the advancement of IPS in the beginning of the following year. From the very outset they approached Bangladesh to join in this initiative. Two years before that, in 2016, Bangladesh joined China’s Belt and Road Initiative. And two years even before that, Bangladesh lent its support to Japan’s Big B, that is, The Bay of Bengal Industrial Growth Belt. It was more or less since then that Bangladesh has featured in Japan, China and US strategic investment and infrastructure moves in the region.

"Too much time should not be taken on reaching a decision concerning our stand in the geopolitical polarisation. We must keep in mind that no one can be antagonised, but at the same time, our interests must be upheld too"

Md Shahidul Haque, former foreign secretary

A review of initiatives and developments over the past five to seven years in the global context indicates that investments in mega projects and infrastructure development at the moment all have geopolitical and strategic significance. The economically developed countries take these factors into consideration in their relations with the countries of emerging economies.

According to diplomatic and international relations experts, Bangladesh is in no way outside of the geopolitical polarisation that has emerged in the region. In the national interests for the sake of the country’s development, Bangladesh must determine its stand in regard to these initiatives. It is essential for Bangladesh to prepare an integrated strategy at a national level to face these developments.

When asked about Bangladesh’s stand regarding the three strategic initiatives of China’s BRI, Japan’s Big B and the US’ IPS, foreign secretary Masud bin Momen on Wednesday told Prothom Alo, Bangladesh welcomes any initiative for international development. The basic considerations will be business, investment and economy. But Bangladesh’s policy will be to stay away from any initiative that has elements of security and defence.

Foreign ministry officials said that the ministry began discussions in 2018 concerning Bangladesh’s stand about BRI, Big B and IPS. The ministry officials were to discuss these matters and then submit their recommendations to the political leadership. However, despite several discussions, they could not reach a conclusion.

Speaking to Prothom Alo on Thursday, senior fellow of North South University’s South Asia Institute of Policy Governance (SIPG) and former foreign secretary Md Shahidul Haque, said, “Too much time should not be taken on reaching a decision concerning our stand in the geopolitical polarisation. We must keep in mind that no one can be antagonised, but at the same time, our interests must be upheld too.”

He said that Bangladesh needed to determine the areas for bargaining with China, the US and Japan.

President of the think-tank Bangladesh Institute of Peace and Security Studies (BIPSS), Maj Gen (retd) ANM Muniruzzaman, speaking to Prothom Alo on Friday, said, “We need to be cautious in avoiding the area of competition being created in this region by the big powers. We are seeing shadows of a new Cold War. This does not bode well for any small country. It would be better for us not to join any particular strategy or initiative.”

He felt that in national interests, Bangladesh needs to remain in BRI. It needs cooperation from IPS too. Bangladesh has only received necessary funding from BRI so far for infrastructural development. Again, the basic principle of IPS is congruent with Bangladesh's ideology. Bangladesh, in its own interests, needs free trade and movement. At the same time, Bangladesh must also observe whether IPS is being used to block anyone. If that is so, then the matter will require rethinking. It would not be correct for Bangladesh to join any new sphere of power.

Balance and priority

Several senior government officials have told this correspondent that Japan says Bangladesh had attached itself to Japan’s Big B from 2018 through the Matarbari power project. But there is no mention of Matarbari in the Big B-based master plan documents and so this claim of Japan has surprised Bangladesh.

Again, from 2019 the US has been saying that it has investments in Japan’s Matarbari project. After all these claims, the Bangladesh officials have decided that from now on, everything must be made clear in writing before joining any initiative.

"We are seeing shadows of a new Cold War. This does not bode well for any small country. It would be better for us not to join any particular strategy or initiative."

Maj Gen (red) ANM Muniruzzaman, President, BIPSS

Meanwhile, diplomatic sources say that even amidst these geopolitical polarisation realities, it is possible for Bangladesh to maintain a balanced position. At the same time, in endeavouring to maintain a balance, it must not lose any bargaining opportunity.

Distinguished fellow of the think-tank, Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), Mustafizur Rahman, has said that if it is to benefit from geostrategic advantages, Bangladesh must place priority on geo-economics. As an emerging economy, it is better for Bangladesh not to display any attitude of playing a significant role in geopolitics.

Need for a strategic policy

Global forecasts indicate new global polarisations by 2050 and so these matters must be taken into cognizance.
Of course, the predictions in the past proved incorrect regarding the economically emerging countries Philippines and Nigeria, and later regarding BRICS, which involved Brazil, Russia, India and South Africa. And so, analysts maintain, it is essential for Bangladesh to prepare a policy regarding its involvement in strategic initiatives.

The BIPSS president Muniruzzaman said, “Discussions should be held among the government, think-tanks and experts to determine our stand. Due to our geographical location, we have entered a geopolitical situation. We now need extremely detailed analysis about how we should proceed in this circumstance.”

'Important to determine geopolitical strategy'

The US is placing importance on its relations with countries of South Asia, including India and Bangladesh. The visit of US deputy secretary of state Stephen Biegun is being regarded by analysts as a part of these efforts

en.prothomalo.com

 

[Saithan]

Wise stance by Bangladesh. Only issue would be the amount of debt incurred on either side.

I think it is important to stay in control of infrastructure projects and keep foreign management to bare minimum.

I think India is/has quite an influence in Bangladesh. So getting tricked into one side is definitely something to be wary off.

Perhaps it would be prudent to diversify who you cooperate with. Use the project portfolio wisely. Invite other countries from a different sphere.

 

[Isa Khan]

https://www.facebook.com/mofadhaka/posts/853129428760966

https://www.facebook.com/mofadhaka/posts/853094535431122

 

[Isa Khan]

Recently a faded black and white picture of the beach of Kuwait, which was clicked in 1992, was discovered from the archive of Daily Arab Times. The image showcases a group of Bangladeshi soldiers searching for mines on the beach of Kuwait.

The Bangladeshi minesweepers were called upon to sweep the beach, as the mines in the beach were not cleared properly after the Gulf War. The Bangladeshi mine sweepers later found a few explosives on that beach.

They were not the best equipped minesweepers of the time. They relied on simple mine detectors and their skill in manual search, which certainly puts them in a higher risk. How well did they perform despite the limitations?

When the image was brought to the attention of a Bangladeshi engineer, he reminisced about the incidents he had gone through in the time of Iraqi invasion in 1990.

The Bangladeshi engineer said he used to serve in an important Kuwaiti government office prior to the Iraqi invasion. The engineer made a daring attempt to infiltrate into the server room while the office was occupied by Iraqis.

His attempt saved the valuable database of the office. However, a few days after, he was called by the Iraqis occupying that office. Sensing possible danger, he left Kuwait and moved to Bangladesh taking a difficult road journey through Iran, Pakistan and India.

This engineer returned to Kuwait after the liberation. As he landed in Kuwait Airport, a Kuwaiti embraced him as soon he gave his Bangladeshi identity.

The Kuwaiti said to him that the Bangladeshi military was doing a splendid job.

Currently, there are 350,000 Bangladeshi migrant workers in Kuwait, Arab News reports citing embassy data.

The Gulf war and the mines

On August 2, 1990 Iraq invaded and occupied Kuwait in an attempt to gain more control over the profitable oil supply of the Middle East. In response, the UN Security Council and the United States demanded the withdrawal of Iraqi troops from Kuwait, but Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein refused.

As a result, a coalition of 34 nations led by the United States began an intensive bombing campaign against strategic Iraqi locations. These events are known as the first Gulf War and resulted in the expulsion of Iraqi forces from Kuwait. However, the Iraqis set 600 Kuwaiti oil wells on fire during their retreat.

During the war, Iraq widely deployed some 16 types of naval mines in the waters off Kuwait and the Fao peninsula of Iraq.

According to The New York Times report, more than 100 mines were found by allied warships since the invasion of Kuwait in August, but many of those were floating freely, having torn away from their moorings.

After the end of the war, the American vessels and helicopters in the northern Gulf along with British, Saudi, Italy and France minesweeping forces destroyed the mines.

The most modern minehunters used methods that involve helicopters dragging sleds through the water, wooden- and plastic-bottomed boats with sensitive sonars, robotic submarines with television cameras and specially trained divers and sharpshooters to destroy the mines.

Whereas the Bangladeshi minehunters took high risk to make the Kuwait beach safe with simple mine detectors and their skill in manual search.

Contribution of Bangladeshis in nation building of Kuwait

KUWAIT CITY, Oct 13: This faded black and white picture is of the beach of Kuwait in 1992. By 2020, the far side of the picture must have been replaced by the ...

www.arabtimesonline.com

How Bangladeshis contributed in nation building of Kuwait

The Bangladeshi minesweepers were called upon to sweep the beach, as the mines in the beach were not cleared properly after the Gulf War

publisher.tbsnews.net

 

[rainmaker]

Why not sell lots of houses and apartments to rich sheikhs, and then levy a property tax on those? More development can never be a bad thing.

 

[Bilal9]

https://www.facebook.com/mofadhaka/posts/853129428760966

https://www.facebook.com/mofadhaka/posts/853094535431122

Ah - the Happy kingdom Bhutan!

Misty Mountains surrounded with mythology and mystique.

We should do as much as possible to provide them trade facilitation, especially port facilities. They are land-locked but have much potential as far as tourism and hydro-power, just as a start. Also - agricultural produce wise (temperate variety) a very attractive source which they should develop further.

With proper land connections, Bhutanese produce can get to Dhaka in less than two days.

 

[Bilal9]

Personal opinion, way to big and operation is a bit inefficient, lack of metro transportation within the terminal makes experiences horrible. Otherwise, it’s better than the airport that closed down, way better.

Well there are pluses and minuses at every facility. I am sure they have growing pains as usual, and will work out the kinks, introduce some sort of people mover.

Our Hazrat Shah Jalal Airport Third Terminal in construction will Insha-Allah be way better than the two older Terminals designed in the 60's by the French.

By what I have seen, the ingress and egress from/to the third terminal to Airport Road is via highway ramps. I hope they have some type of bus system or people mover situation between all three terminals. Would've been perfect, if there were underground tunnels between the terminals and horizontal travellators like Singapore Changi, Hong Kong and Incheon Airports.

 

[Micheal Corleone]

Well there are pluses and minuses at every facility. I am sure they have growing pains as usual, and will work out the kinks, introduce some sort of people mover.

Our Hazrat Shah Jalal Airport Third Terminal in construction will Insha-Allah be way better than the two older Terminals designed in the 60's by the French.

By what I have seen, the ingress and egress from/to the third terminal to Airport Road is via highway ramps. I hope they have some type of bus system or people mover situation between all three terminals. Would've been perfect, if there were underground tunnels between the terminals and horizontal travellators like Singapore Changi, Hong Kong and Incheon Airports.

Biggest issue is not the construction but maintenance. Imo terminal 1 and 2 of Dhaka airport is well designed but hardly anything had been replaced according to original design or maintained well. Hopefully people respect the third terminal. I’ve seen Middle East bound passengers, spit on the floor.

 

[Bilal9]

Just to clarify - that area near Cox's Bazaar (CXB), which includes Matarbari and Maheshkhali are going to house TWO powerplant projects, within a few miles of each other, including the gas fired one (3,600 MW Combined Cycle) the article above mentions .

Japanese are already building a supercritical coal-fired project at Matarbari (1200 MW to start) - land development almost complete. Deep Sea port included.

Now per report above, GE and Bangladesh Power Development Board (PDB) is going to lay foundation stone soon for the newest project.

Other large projects include Payra (1,320 megawatt supercritical coal-fired) near the Southern Coast and Rooppur (2400 MW nuclear - first stage) in the middle-North area of Bangladesh which are being completed and will come online in the next couple of years.

 

[Bilal9]

Biggest issue is not the construction but maintenance. Imo terminal 1 and 2 of Dhaka airport is well designed but hardly anything had been replaced according to original design or maintained well. Hopefully people respect the third terminal. I’ve seen Middle East bound passengers, spit on the floor.

Well you have to deal with village uneducated folks all the time. Can't ban them from the airport...next generation hopefully will be more clueful.

 

[Bilal9]

Sri Lanka, Hong Kong and Myanmar are interested as well.

This brings the number of majority Pharma outfits having successfully trialing COVID vaccines to five/six locally.

Remdesivir has been produced in Bangladesh since 1Q 2020.

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=3312297532225138

 

[Isa Khan]

You know Bangladesh is not interested when you don't see any officials from armed forces in the webinar. Surprised that that they are talking about warship building but no official from three major naval shipyard (DEW, KSY and CDDL) was present at the webinar.

India felt the heat of a possible Hisar contract for Bangladesh

Highly unlikely. Bangladesh is working on to procure two new air defense radar AFIK including other surveillance radar, new assault rifle, six 2000 tons OPV, new corvette, six new frigates, 16 MRCA, two new western LPC, 8-12 attack helicopters.

We make our HSB, small patrol boats locally, don't know why India offered it. BN still has requirement for at least 4 corvette (most likely we got ToT for Type 56), it has plans to induct LR-MPA and 4-6 six more submarines by 2030 as the submarine base in Kutubdia and a naval base in Rabnabad is under construction. BAF will need to replace it's F-7 with new single engine MRCA and BCG has plan to induct MPA. I think those offer are based on these requirement.

Bangladesh also evaluating ballistic missiles. They are interested in BORA/KHAN ballistic missile system. BORA had been used in Syria and Iraq.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1329671063257690112

It's all just a speculation for now based on Type- A GMLRS evaluation and this photo below from IDEF-19. Turan Orguz needs to stop believing everything from Bangladeshi Defense pages.

I believe a bunch of chinese platforms were, and hopefully Turkey beats them to the punch.

Akash-NG for example is what I believe is being talked about here, it is a different range class to Hisar.

Chinese platforms like Sky Dragon and LY-80D is actually better than Hisar- O and Akash i believe. Lets see how Hisar- O+ turns out to be. Akash NG is still in development how are they offering it?

If you first want to brag about "battle-proven"....you can first see which country is war-proven when it comes to establishment of Bangladesh in first place...so you even have the country to make subforum discussion here on this topic in the first place.

Also given it is asserted 1 billion deal for light armoured vehicle RFP is what now tipped trade of BD-Turkey trade to be bigger than say Pak-BD trade, it would be useful if someone has actual update on this since all the news are from 2017, but nothing since:

Not sure how is this relevant to the thread but i guess it's Otokar Cobra II and MaxxPro Dash.

Heard India is offering 500 million USD line of credit to BD for these deals. This makes this interesting.

Bangladesh is not interested that much to buy any major product from India with that i guess even after Indian request. The only thing they bought is some Tata Hexa SUV for mid-level admin officers.

Delhi asks Dhaka to use defence loan

Indian external affairs minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on Tuesday requested Bangladesh to utilise a line of credit extended by India for purchasing military equipment. He made...

www.newagebd.net

India keen to sell military hardware to Bangladesh

India is desperately trying to score some defence exports in Bangladesh by offering missiles, artillery, mortars, radar systems, ammunition, shipbuilding cooperation and other types of

www.defseca.com

 

[Reviewbrah]

You know Bangladesh is not interested when you don't see any officials from armed forces in the webinar. Surprised that that they are talking about warship building but no official from three major naval shipyard (DEW, KSY and CDDL) was present at the webinar.



Highly unlikely. Bangladesh is working on to procure two new air defense radar AFIK including other surveillance radar, new assault rifle, six 2000 tons OPV, new corvette, six new frigates, 16 MRCA, two new western LPC, 8-12 attack helicopters.

We make our HSV, small patrol boats locally, don't know why India offered it. BN still has requirement for at least 4 corvette (most likely we got ToT for Type 56), it has plans to induct LR-MPA and 4-6 six more submarines by 2030 as the submarine base in Kutubdia and a naval base in Rabnabad is under construction. BAF will need to replace it's F-7 with new single engine MRCA and BCG has plan to induct MPA. I think those offer are based on these requirement.




It's all just a speculation for now based on Type- A GMLRS evaluation and this photo below from IDEF-19. Turan Orguz needs to stop believing everything from Bangladeshi Defense pages.

View attachment 6979




Chinese platforms like Sky Dragon and LY-80D is actually better than Hisar- O and Akash i believe. Lets see how Hisar- O+ turns out to be. Akash NG is still in development how are they offering it?



View attachment 6981



Not sure how is this relevant to the thread but i guess it's Otokar Cobra II and MaxxPro Dash.



Bangladesh is not interested that much to buy any major product from India with that i guess even after Indian request. The only thing they bought is some Tata Hexa SUV for mid-level admin officers.

Delhi asks Dhaka to use defence loan

Indian external affairs minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on Tuesday requested Bangladesh to utilise a line of credit extended by India for purchasing military equipment. He made...

www.newagebd.net

India keen to sell military hardware to Bangladesh

India is desperately trying to score some defence exports in Bangladesh by offering missiles, artillery, mortars, radar systems, ammunition, shipbuilding cooperation and other types of

www.defseca.com

Hisar is more comparable to IRIS-T SL. There is many factors but Hisar is very likely better than Sky Dragon series. LY-80 has better missile tech and much bigger than Hisar. Turkish approach to something like LY-80 is G40 missile similar to ESSM that is in development.

India is developing Akash NG, which will have more similar approach to other missiles like IRIS-T SL and Hisar.