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DHAKA -- Bangladesh has decided to fence off parts of its 271-kilometer border with Myanmar to combat transnational crime as the volatile situation in Rakhine state of the neighboring country deepens security concerns for Dhaka.
If actually constructed, this would be the first time for the government of Bangladesh to establish such infrastructure along its border with any neighbor, including Myanmar and India. The area has taken on added significance since 2017, when hundreds of thousands of Rohingya, a Muslim minority in Myanmar, fled persecution in their home state of Rakhine and sought refuge in Cox's Bazar, a coastal city in southern Bangladesh.
Bangladesh Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed announced the border-fencing plan during a parliamentary session last month, stating the project aims to curb "infiltration, cross-border crime and smuggling."
The announcement came as the Arakan Army, an ethnic rebel group in Rakhine, consolidates control over most of the state, a shift that has heightened fears of a fresh Rohingya influx and increased cross-border crime, as well as the risk to life for people living along the border.
According to Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), the government has undertaken the initiative to establish approximately 108 km of fencing along selected vulnerable stretches of the Bangladesh-Myanmar border. The authorities, however, have not disclosed the actual locations where the fence would be built.
The border security force said several factors have reinforced the need for the border infrastructure, including preventing unauthorized border crossings, combating transnational crimes such as narcotics, arms and human trafficking, and disrupting organized criminal networks.
The BGB's public relations officer, Md Shariful Islam, told Nikkei Asia that in many areas opposite Bangladesh, the traditional state border management mechanisms are no longer functioning as they did previously.
Md. Shahidul Haque, a retired Bangladeshi major general, elaborated on the country's intention of building the border fence.
"One of our primary concerns is that individuals from the Chittagong Hill Tracts are crossing into Rakhine state to join the Arakan Army as paid recruits, and that significant quantities of drugs and illegal weapons are being smuggled into our country through this route," said Haque, who is also a former defense attache at the Bangladesh Embassy in Myanmar.
The fence will reduce such cross-border movement, "as fence construction is typically accompanied by a parallel patrol road, enabling more effective monitoring and surveillance of the border," he said.
According to Haque, Myanmar began constructing a fence along the Naf River, a border waterway between the two countries, in late 2009 or early 2010. However, construction was halted after completing only about 70 km of the 120 km stretch. "This section has long been one of the easiest routes for drug traffickers, arms smugglers and human traffickers to operate."
"Bangladesh should give first priority to this river section, then the land portion, which is a little difficult. Another portion which Bangladesh should fence is the Naikhongchhari and Bandarban hill-tract section. This section is notorious for Indian [and] Myanmar insurgent movements and sanctuaries," he said.
Lt. Cmdr. Sabbir Alam Sujan, media officer of the Bangladesh Coast Guard, told Nikkei Asia that the security situation along the border area significantly changed after the Arakan Army's capture of Maungdaw in December 2024 and its subsequent consolidation of control over the borderlands.
"While Bangladesh maintains formal diplomatic ties with the military junta in Naypyidaw, a stark de facto reality has emerged: The central Myanmar regime exercises zero command or administrative authority along the bilateral border," he said. "This jurisdictional vacuum has worsened regional instability, manifested by a sharp rise in the abduction of Bangladeshi fishermen, heightened explosion of transnational arms and narcotics trafficking, Rohingya influx, and persistent risks from legacy landmines and unexploded ordnance."
According to the BGB's operational records, since late 2024, when the Arakan Army took control of the Myanmar side of the border, more than 426 Bangladeshi fishermen have been detained from the Naf River and the Bay of Bengal. Of these, 324 have been safely repatriated in successive phases, while the remaining are still being held by captors.
"Consequently, securing the border and safeguarding frontier civilians has become an increasingly complex challenge for Bangladesh security forces," Sujan said.
Media reports suggest that armed men believed to be from the Arakan Army abducted civilians and later contacted their families to demand ransom for their release.
"Arakan Army is abducting fishermen and demanding ransom as a source of funding. Since the AA captured Rakhine state, Bangladesh has faced an increase in smuggling, drugs and arms trafficking. AA needs money and they are doing this to fund itself," said M. Sakhawat Hossain, a retired brigadier general.
Abu Morshed Chowdhury, executive director of PHALS, a local Bangladeshi nongovernmental organization working with Rohingya refugees, said that fencing off the Bangladesh-Myanmar border could benefit both the Rohingyas and host communities.
"The fence would include multiple gates, allowing people to cross the border legally," Chowdhury said.
He noted that multiple incidents -- including mortar shelling, land mine explosions and drug smuggling -- have posed serious threats to the safety and security of people living in the border areas and that fencing would help strengthen security.
asia.nikkei.com
If actually constructed, this would be the first time for the government of Bangladesh to establish such infrastructure along its border with any neighbor, including Myanmar and India. The area has taken on added significance since 2017, when hundreds of thousands of Rohingya, a Muslim minority in Myanmar, fled persecution in their home state of Rakhine and sought refuge in Cox's Bazar, a coastal city in southern Bangladesh.
Bangladesh Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed announced the border-fencing plan during a parliamentary session last month, stating the project aims to curb "infiltration, cross-border crime and smuggling."
The announcement came as the Arakan Army, an ethnic rebel group in Rakhine, consolidates control over most of the state, a shift that has heightened fears of a fresh Rohingya influx and increased cross-border crime, as well as the risk to life for people living along the border.
According to Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), the government has undertaken the initiative to establish approximately 108 km of fencing along selected vulnerable stretches of the Bangladesh-Myanmar border. The authorities, however, have not disclosed the actual locations where the fence would be built.
The border security force said several factors have reinforced the need for the border infrastructure, including preventing unauthorized border crossings, combating transnational crimes such as narcotics, arms and human trafficking, and disrupting organized criminal networks.
The BGB's public relations officer, Md Shariful Islam, told Nikkei Asia that in many areas opposite Bangladesh, the traditional state border management mechanisms are no longer functioning as they did previously.
Md. Shahidul Haque, a retired Bangladeshi major general, elaborated on the country's intention of building the border fence.
"One of our primary concerns is that individuals from the Chittagong Hill Tracts are crossing into Rakhine state to join the Arakan Army as paid recruits, and that significant quantities of drugs and illegal weapons are being smuggled into our country through this route," said Haque, who is also a former defense attache at the Bangladesh Embassy in Myanmar.
The fence will reduce such cross-border movement, "as fence construction is typically accompanied by a parallel patrol road, enabling more effective monitoring and surveillance of the border," he said.
According to Haque, Myanmar began constructing a fence along the Naf River, a border waterway between the two countries, in late 2009 or early 2010. However, construction was halted after completing only about 70 km of the 120 km stretch. "This section has long been one of the easiest routes for drug traffickers, arms smugglers and human traffickers to operate."
"Bangladesh should give first priority to this river section, then the land portion, which is a little difficult. Another portion which Bangladesh should fence is the Naikhongchhari and Bandarban hill-tract section. This section is notorious for Indian [and] Myanmar insurgent movements and sanctuaries," he said.
Lt. Cmdr. Sabbir Alam Sujan, media officer of the Bangladesh Coast Guard, told Nikkei Asia that the security situation along the border area significantly changed after the Arakan Army's capture of Maungdaw in December 2024 and its subsequent consolidation of control over the borderlands.
"While Bangladesh maintains formal diplomatic ties with the military junta in Naypyidaw, a stark de facto reality has emerged: The central Myanmar regime exercises zero command or administrative authority along the bilateral border," he said. "This jurisdictional vacuum has worsened regional instability, manifested by a sharp rise in the abduction of Bangladeshi fishermen, heightened explosion of transnational arms and narcotics trafficking, Rohingya influx, and persistent risks from legacy landmines and unexploded ordnance."
According to the BGB's operational records, since late 2024, when the Arakan Army took control of the Myanmar side of the border, more than 426 Bangladeshi fishermen have been detained from the Naf River and the Bay of Bengal. Of these, 324 have been safely repatriated in successive phases, while the remaining are still being held by captors.
"Consequently, securing the border and safeguarding frontier civilians has become an increasingly complex challenge for Bangladesh security forces," Sujan said.
Media reports suggest that armed men believed to be from the Arakan Army abducted civilians and later contacted their families to demand ransom for their release.
"Arakan Army is abducting fishermen and demanding ransom as a source of funding. Since the AA captured Rakhine state, Bangladesh has faced an increase in smuggling, drugs and arms trafficking. AA needs money and they are doing this to fund itself," said M. Sakhawat Hossain, a retired brigadier general.
Abu Morshed Chowdhury, executive director of PHALS, a local Bangladeshi nongovernmental organization working with Rohingya refugees, said that fencing off the Bangladesh-Myanmar border could benefit both the Rohingyas and host communities.
"The fence would include multiple gates, allowing people to cross the border legally," Chowdhury said.
He noted that multiple incidents -- including mortar shelling, land mine explosions and drug smuggling -- have posed serious threats to the safety and security of people living in the border areas and that fencing would help strengthen security.
Bangladesh to build 108-km fence along Myanmar border
Officials cite concerns over increased instability in Rakhine state
asia.nikkei.com
