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Maritime Security of Bangladesh

Introduction:

In contemporary world, maritime security remains at the forefront of political concern inmany of the littoral countries bordering oceans, bays, gulfs or any other international waterbody. It is a part of national security and not an isolated strategic entity by itself, therebyrequiring integration with the overall national security model of a littoral state.

Traditional concept of Maritime security is furnished mostly by the powerful maritimepowers with emphasis on a strategy to fight war and restore peace in the seas. In this sense,

the thinking that dominated the experts on maritime security is „the domination of the seasand oceans by the powerful nations somewhat on a conventional wisdom that „one who rulesthe sea, rules the land‟. This individualistic, acquisitive and aggressive manner of a fewpowerful maritime nations ultimately paved the way for development of mighty navies forpower projection, gunboat diplomacy, unwarranted intervention in weak littoral states‟

affairs, neocolonialism and the like. As a result, the perception of oceanic peace and securityhad been the monopoly of few powerful nations with formidable military control over a vastspan of oceanic space to safeguard their specific security interests on such grounds ashistorical claims, geo-strategic interests, commercial interests etc. In brief, maritime securitywas manipulated by few as being strictly military-centric in nature, and many newlyindependent states in post World War II, either due to colonial legacy or for security reasons

subsequently embraced this approach as manifested in their rapid naval build-ups along sidetheir various efforts to reduce threats in the terrestrial domain by conventional means.

The paradigmatic shift in the concept of security with its emphasis both on conventional andnon-conventional threats in recent times, enhanced the scope and dimension of comprehensive maritime security as broad as that of the land based one in terms of the threatsand vulnerabilities, and the means for dealing with them.

Maritime security is a multi-faceted concept that not only involves domestic and internationallaws but also consideration of geopolitics of the area concerned. Maritime security should beviewed from global and regional geo-political perspectives.

Maritime security is an indispensible part of comprehensive security of a country.Bangladesh being a small country in South Asia, she faces serious maritime security threatfrom both traditional and non-traditional sectors as well as changing geopolitical dimensions.This paper explores these dynamics and suggests measures to ensure maritime security forBangladesh. 

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Literature Survey:

Abu Taher Salahuddin Ahmed (2010) argues that Maritime Security entails security fromcrimes at sea, resource security, environmental security, and security of seafarers and fishers.Highlighting all these issues, he argues, Bangladesh being a small country should opt for

regional cooperation and proposes for setting up a “regional maritime co-operative securitymechanism” (RMCSM) within the broader framework of SAARC for ensuring whole

regional maritime security.

Barrister Harun ur Rashid (2009) argues that Maritime security cannot be separated from abroader picture of strategic environment. Maritime security has two aspects: macro and microissues and the synthesis of the two will guide Bangladesh in combating threats to its maritimesecurity.

Commodore Md. Khurshed Alam (2009)  analyses the traditional issues impinging onMaritime Boundary Delimitation for Bangladesh. He critically analyses all the problematicissues between Myanmar-India and Bangladesh that hampers maritime border dispute byUNCLOS.

Dr. Abul Kalam Azad (2009) traces the non-Traditional threats to the Maritime Security of Bangladesh i.e. illegal exploitation of resources (illegal fishing, poaching, exploration of oiland gas, extraction of minerals), deliberate pollution of marine environment, ordinary theft,armed robbery, piracy, illegal trafficking in arms, drugs and human, hijacking and sabotage,terrorism, mercenary activities and maritime insurgency operations, illegal trade in ozonedepleting chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) etc. Besides proposing adaptation of developmentalmeasures at national level for maritime security, he suggests that regional cooperation and

inception of ocean governance among the littoral states can solve the non-traditional maritimesecurity threat of Bangladesh.

M. Habibur Rahman (1984) points out the problems related to delimitation of maritimeboundaries of Bangladesh. He suggests that Bangladesh needs to fix the boundary at a four-point junction measured from the Bangladesh coast, the coast of India's mainland, the coastof the Andaman and Nicobar islands, and the coast of Sri Lanka; and adds that the boundaryof the continental shelf/margin is to be fixed at a tri-junction measured from the coast of Bangladesh, Burma, and the Andaman and Nicobar islands.

S. Taleb (2010) argues that the most important maritime security issue for Bangladesh is to

delimit its maritime boundaries in order to exploit its offshore resources, including gas andoil. However, Bangladesh has faced a number of difficulties with neighbouring countries overthe demarcation of maritime boundaries, including overlapping claims with India andMyanmar. S. Taleb suggests that Bangladesh must make preparations for establishing itsclaims over its maritime boundaries without delay and adds if negotiations to resolve thesedisputes become fruitless, Bangladesh should make proper preparations to submit and win itsclaims through international legal regimes.

These prior works discuss partial dimensions i.e. traditional/ non-traditional/demarcationproblem/geopolitical dimensions only and separately. This paper comprehensively synthesizethe previous ideas and developments, thus it aims at being a full picture of comprehensive

maritime security of Bangladesh, not partial like prior works.

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Why Discuss Maritime Security:

Maritime security is described as those measures government and other stake holders employ

against maritime threats- both military and non-military threats.

Indian Ocean:

Bangladesh opens to the Indian Ocean through the Bay of Bengal in the south. Thus, she hasto look at the current geo-political players of the Indian Ocean which is being graduallymilitarized. The players are US, China, India, Pakistan, Myanmar, Malaysia, Singapore andAustralia and their naval ships routinely patrol the Indian Ocean to keep the sea-lanes safefrom threats for oil tankers, cargo and passenger ships.

India has undertaken a number of important naval and air construction projects atLakshadweep, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a planned military reconnaissance centre in theMaldives and new interest in naval facilities in Sri Lanka.

Since the US considers China a strategic competitor, not a strategic partner, China feels that itis being encircled by the US and its allies to contain China‟s influence in the Asia Pacific

region. Obviously China has been monitoring the US and India‟s increased military role in

the Ocean-area from a base in Myanmar (Coco Islands). There appears to be a “silent cold

war” going on between China and the US and its allies on the Indian Ocean. 

Global Security Environment:

Terrorism is a global problem and it cannot be fought by a single state. Terrorism is a strategyand a deadly game of ” hide and seek”. Terrorists are non-state actors that are elusive. Theprincipal problem of terrorism is that they have a global reach, estimated to be in 60countries. The terrorists are groups, without countries or uniforms and may lie low for yearsbefore they act.

Second, while the US is clearly too strong to stay on the sidelines of world affairs, it is tooweak to implement its own agenda without wide international support.

Third, the current political and security environment is very fluid. Many security experts

believe the world order is in transition because there is no power at the moment including theUS that can force an issue to its wishes and satisfaction. This has led to an awkward truth isthat the world is neither dominated by a unipolar power nor multipolar powers. Currently welive in a non-polar world and the balance of power is going through an evolution period.

It is obvious that power in the world is realigning and that Asia is going to become moreimportant. These things are clear and do not need to be debated at length.

Bangladesh Case:

Bangladesh, an Indian Ocean littoral state, has a maritime zone that engenders significantsecurity implications for the country. However, the maritime component of the country‟s  national security continues to remain till to date less debated with very little efforts to

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sensitize its constituent issues. In particular, the current perception of comprehensivemaritime security in Bangladesh is insouciant, and the strategy, plans and actions with respectto it are inadequate. Comprehensive maritime security as understood in contemporary oceangovernance has two facets – conventional/traditional and nonconventional/ non-traditional.

With regard to Bangladesh‟s maritime security, let me begin by posing three questions: Theword “security” presupposes something to be secured. The three questions are: (a) what is

being secured, (b) what is secured against? And (c) what mechanisms may be undertaken toprovide security?

Traditional Issues:

Bangladesh is a coastal state. This brings both advantages and difficulties. Given the currentglobal and regional security environment, a comprehensive maritime security that includesBangladesh ports, Bangladesh shipping, off-shore oil and gas facilities and shipping lanes inBangladesh waters is required.

Bangladesh has to secure 12 miles territorial sea, 200 miles economic zone (12 miles+188miles=200 miles) and another 150 miles of continental shelf from the limit of 200 miles,declared by the 1974 Territorial Waters and Maritimes Zones Act.

Bangladesh has the exclusive right to explore and exploit marine and continental shelf resources. These include not only fish and other living resources but also petroleum, gas andother minerals.

Furthermore seawater according to scientists, contains about 300 chemical elements whichcan be exploited with the assistance and support of the technologically-advanced states.Bangladesh has to safeguard these maritime intertests.

The difficulty in exploring and exploiting exclusive economic zone and continental shelf inthe Bay of Bengal lies in the non-delimitation of maritime boundary with India andMyanmar.

In recent months, we witnessed both Myanmar and India sent survey ships in Bangladesh‟s

area supported by naval ships. Although Bangladesh had successfully defused the likelyconfrontation on the sea through diplomatic efforts and dispatching Bangladesh naval ships inthe area, potential tension remains until the area is delimited with India and Myanmar.

Non-military threats:

Bangladesh has to cope with transnational non-military threats emanating from seas. Relaxedsecurity on the seafront facilitates easy illegal entry and departure from seas. For instance, 20young terrorists of the Mumbai attacks on November 26th came to that city by a boat becauseof relaxed immigration control.

An important adjunct to martime terrorism is drug trafficking. Terrorist groups often work hand-in-hand with drug cartles. While Iran and Pakistan have become “the Golden Crescent”

in drug trafficking, Myanmar and Thailand constitute the “Golden Triangle”. Bangladesh

could be used as a transit point forn drug trafficking.

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Gunrunning by sea is the safest means of transferring illegal arms and ammunition around theworld. Ever since the seizure of arms and ammunitions including submschine guns and AKrifles, rocket propelled grenades and their launchers, 2000 grenades and three lakh bulletsduring unloading from MV Khazar Dan and FB Amanat, at the jetty of Chittagong UreaFertiliser on April 2, 2004, , there had been an unending stream of reports in all newspapers

of such entry of illegal arms and weapons through sea port.

The Home Ministry of Bangladesh has in recent days declared its firm commitment toundertake a thorough investigation to find out who were responsible for the illegal entry of weapons and who were the financiers of such vast quantity of weapons through Chittagongport that has become a strategic point of entry for illegal arms.

Furthermore pirates are quite active on the high seas and they may operate in the contiguouszones. Maritime piracy, consists of any criminal acts of violence, and detention, committedagainst a cargo/passenger ship on the sea.

Seaborne piracy against transport vessels remains a significant issue with estimatedworldwide losses of US $13 to $16 billion per year, particularly in the waters between thePacific and Indian Oceans, off the Somali coast, and also in the Strait of Malacca andSingapore, which are used by over 50,000 commercial ships a year.

Another threat has emerged from unlikely place. This is container security that is often linkedto maritime terrorism. In 2002, the US navy found that al-Queada terrorists who were hidinginside a well-equipped containers escaped before the search commenced. In another case asuspected terrorist smuggled himself halfway the world inside a shipping container that waswell equipped with a bed and toilet. He was carrying computers, cameras, mobile phones,maps and seaport security passes for Thailand, Egypt and Canada.

It has been reported that cargo ships are often used for unloading supplies for terrorists andone instance was that the suicide cadres who bombed US embassies in Kenya and Tanzaniain August 1998 were provided with supplies by cargo ships.

Oil- related disasters at sea are not only environmental hazards but also affect maritimesecurity Oil spills can seriously affect the flow of merchant shipping traffic to and fromBangladesh

Need for Maritime Security of Bangladesh:

Bangladesh is a maritime country with huge Exclusive Economic Zone. The need formaritime security for Bangladesh's sea lines can hardly be over-emphasized. Maritime patrolis one element of the multi-layered approach to maritime security that Bangladesh couldemploy to protect national interests. In practice elsewhere, maritime security has moved wellbeyond the traditional concepts of naval or military threat although, of course, the protectionof sovereign interests against military force remains a fundamental issue for any government.

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The need for maritime security for Bangladesh can be divided into two broad categories: 

a.  Civilian requirement and

b. 

Military requirement

Civilian requirement:Bangladesh has a huge maritime economy to protect. This maritime sector is very importantfor Bangladesh's overall national economic growth and social life. Bangladesh‟s maritime

sector is important to the nation‟s economy and quality of life in a number of ways: 

1.  About 90% of our external trade is done through sea routes2.  Huge deposit of hydrocarbon and investment in dollar value in this sector3.  Marine fisheries--one of the largest export earning sectors

4.  Tourism industry

The importance of Bangladesh‟s marine resources in the national economy will grow in

coming years because of extraction of the large deposits of minerals.Bangladesh can find its sovereign civilian interests challenged directly or indirectly in manyways such as:

1.  illegal resource exploitation;2.  disregard of national or international law;3.  illegal transportation of goods or people;4.  creation of environmental hazards.

Addressing these varied challenges today requires a wider range of capabilities, processesand policies namely;

1.  Surveillance: the detection of activities, events or changes in condition within an areaof ocean jurisdiction;

2.  Monitoring: the systematic observation of specific activities, events, or conditions;3.  Control: the execution and the rendering effective of international and national rules

and regulations; or other responses as appropriate.

Military requirement: Bangladesh has maritime border dispute with India and the expansion of Indian navy both insize and capability is a matter of concern for Bangladesh. Sea is the only outlet forBangladesh to exercise her sovereign rights as she is land locked from three sides by Indiaand Myanmar. The type of maritime security issues that can emerge are as follows: 

1.  Maritime espionage by inimical forces2.  naval blockade3.  Terrorism against maritime interests such as blowing up trade vessels, and gas extraction

facilities4.  Illegal drugs and weapons transportation

5.  forceful occupation of maritime land patches by sea pirates and even by neighbouringcountries.

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Maritime Border Demarcation Issue:

Maritime boundary, like territorial or land boundary, is a politically sensitive subject, becauseit affects a state's sovereign rights concerning the fisheries, hydrocarbons and other resourcesas well as uses of the sea. This sensitivity is manifest in the issue of delimitation of maritime

boundaries between Bangladesh-India-Myanmar. S. Taleb (2009) argues that the mostimportant maritime security issue for Bangladesh is to delimit its maritime boundaries inorder to exploit its offshore resources, including gas and oil. However, Bangladesh has faceda number of difficulties with neighbouring countries over the demarcation of maritimeboundaries, including overlapping claims with India and Myanmar. S. Taleb suggests thatBangladesh must make preparations for establishing its claims over its maritime boundarieswithout delay and adds if negotiations to resolve these disputes become fruitless, Bangladeshshould make proper preparations to submit and win its claims through international legalregimes.

Figure 1: Territorial Sea Baselines 

Discoveries of gas by India and Myanmar in 2005-6 make delimitation of ExclusiveEconomic Zones (EEZ) and continental shelf (CS) boundaries particularly important.However, Bangladesh faces a number of difficulties in demarcating its maritime borders:

  Bangladesh‟s claims are founded upon depth-based baselines, due to the characteristicsof its coastline. It has declared straight baselines, selecting eight imaginary base pointsfollowing the 10-fathom line.

  The unique characteristics of Bangladesh‟s coast create difficulties for  demarcation.Bangladesh‟s dynamic estuary and the continual process of alluvion and sedimentation,

for example, mean that there is no stable low water line.

  Due to the geographical and geomorphic nature of the coasts in the Bay of Bengal, statesin the region sometimes encroach upon each others‟ EEZs. 

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  India and Myanmar argue that disputes with Bangladesh should be resolved according tothe equidistant principle. Bangladesh, however, argues that in disputes between adjacentstates, the equity principle should apply instead.

Figure 2: Zone-locked Bangladesh 

How to Ensure Maritime Security of Bangladesh:

The following three steps action might be inaugurated for Bangladesh maritime securityAt national level enhancing capability and regional level promoting regional mechanism aswell as solving maritime demarcation bilaterally if possible; if not possible by the UNCLOSprovisions may be adopted for lasting and enduring maritime security for Bangladesh.

Aircraft options: The choice of aircraft platform is the most important decision for two reasons:

a.  the costs of aircraft and ships can be high and seem to rise exponentially forassets that have high endurance or operate at long distances

b.  platforms need to be matched closely with the tasks to be undertaken. (Extracapacity comes at a high price.)

Now, let us take a look at the type of range that is needed in the rotary and fixed wing aircraftto perform maritime security tasks. It can be broken down into three broad categories:

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1.  coastal - along the coastline and Territorial Sea where the need is usually for shortduration coverage;

2.  mid-range - throughout much of the EEZ, an area accessible to medium-rangecommercial aircraft;

3.  long distance  –  further out, especially over the outer fringes of the EEZ and

beyond, where usually there is a requirement for sustained operations.

These rotary and fixed wing aircrafts should also have the following combat capabilities:

a.  Antisubmarine warfare (ASW),b.  Anti-surface warfare,c.  Standoff land attack,d.  Intelligence/surveillance/reconnaissance, ande.  Counterdrug missions.

To Solve Maritime Border Dispute:

The government of Bangladesh should consider the maritime issue as an important aspect of national security and economic prosperity. It should promote technical developments for themaximum utilisation of marine resources. To enjoy the economic opportunities provided bythe United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), Bangladesh mustdemarcate its maritime boundary. To this end the government of Bangladesh should:

  Acquire marine patrol aircraft to guard its territorial sea. It should provide the navy withsufficient sophisticated equipment to monitor and protect coastline islands, the EEZ and

the CS. It should conduct joint naval exercises with major powers.  Enact domestic laws incorporating the UNCLOS in order to establish a stronger claim in

international legal regimes. It may have to redraw its 1974 baselines to ensure they areconsistent with the UNCLOS, 1982.

  Coordinate experts working on UNCLOS and maritime issues in order to maintaincontinuity in the negotiating process. Coordination among the multiple organisationsworking on maritime issues is also vital.

  Negotiate with Myanmar and India. This is vital since neither country favours third partyintervention on this issue. It should consider the alliance relationship and prepareproperly to establish strong claims at the negotiations.

  Internationalise the issue in order to strengthen its claims and gain international support.

  Consider joint management of resources, both renewable and non-renewable, whichcould benefit Bangladesh, India and Myanmar. However, this will require friendlyrelations and many rounds of negotiations.

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References 

M. Habibur Rahman (1984), Delimitation of Maritime Boundaries: A Survey of Problems in

the Bangladesh Case, Asian Survey, Vol. 24, No. 12, pp. 1302-1317 published by:University of California Press

Barrister Harun ur Rashid (2009), Maritime Security: Diplomatic Initiatives, Paper Presentedat the Seminar on Maritime Security of Bangladesh organized by the Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS), Dhaka, on Thursday 12 February, 2009

Md. Khurshed Alam(2009), Maritime Security of Bangladesh: Traditional Issues Impingingon Maritime Boundary Delimitation, Paper Presented at the Seminar on Maritime Security of Bangladesh organized by the Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies(BIISS), Dhaka, on Thursday 12 February, 2009

Dr. Abul Kalam Azad (2009), Maritime Security of Bangladesh: Facing the Challenges of Non-Traditional Threats, Paper Presented at the Seminar on Maritime Security of Bangladeshorganized by the Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS), Dhaka,on Thursday 12 February, 2009

Abu Taher Salahuddin Ahmed (2010), Maritime Security of Bangladesh: ExploringRegional Cooperation, South Asian Survey.