NEW DELHI: Just when India was poised to take its traditionally good defence-military ties with Bangladesh on a sharp upward trajectory in a bid to stem China’s major strategic inroads into the country, the fleeing of Sheikh Hasina from her country on Monday has injected an air of uncertainty into the entire equation.
Bangladesh Army chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman (58), a career infantry officer who declared his force was taking over the country’s reins and would soon announce an interim govt, was in fact slated to visit India later this month.
“It would have been Gen Waker-Uz-Zaman’s first foreign visit after becoming the Army chief on June 23 for a three-year tenure. Despite China’s expanding influence in Bangladesh, Dhaka’s bilateral defence ties with New Delhi were on an upswing. But everything is in a state of flux now,” a source said.
Just a month ago, Bangladesh had inked a deal with Indian defence shipyard GRSE in Kolkata to build an 800-tonne advanced ocean-going tug, in the first major deal inked under the $500-million line of credit for defence purchases extended by New Delhi to Dhaka, which was operationalized last year.
The contract coincided with Navy chief Admiral Dinesh Tripathi’s four-day visit to Bangladesh to further consolidate defence ties and explore new avenues for maritime cooperation. Admiral Tripathi held discussions with Gen Waker-Uz-Zaman as well as the naval and air force chiefs, Admiral M Nazmul Hassan and Air Marshal Hasan Mahmood Khan, during the visit.
“Talks were underway for Bangladesh to buy Indian offshore patrol vessels as well as get spares for maintenance for its Russian-origin MiG-29 and Mi-17 helicopters. Apart from joint exercises and capacity-building programmes, Indian military establishments have been training Bangladeshi defence personnel for decades,” the source said.
The Indian defence establishment is now in a wait-and-watch mode to see how events unfold in Bangladesh, including the interim govt’s composition and its impact on bilateral military ties.
“Gen Waker-Uz-Zaman is pro-India. As the principal staff officer of the Armed Forces Division of Bangladesh earlier, he co-chaired with the Indian defence secretary the bilateral annual defence dialogues in 2022 and 2023,” another source said.
“But if the interim govt is filled with representatives from the anti-India Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and radical outfits like Jamaat-e-Islami, matters may well head south. The Jamaat has also spread its influence in the Bangladeshi military over the years,” he added.
Then, there is China. Bangladesh was the second biggest recipient globally of Chinese arms in the 2019-2023 timeframe, notching up 11% of them as compared to 61% of Pakistan.
Overall, Bangladesh sources 70-80% of its arms imports from China, which has ranged from F-7 fighter jets, main-battle tanks and corvettes to naval guns, surface-to-air missiles, rifles and ammunition.
China had even supplied two old Ming-class submarines to Bangladesh at a hugely discounted price in 2016. Apart from a wide variety of civil infrastructure projects, China has also helped Bangladesh build its first full-fledged submarine base at Pekua in Cox’s Bazaar, which was commissioned as BNS Sheikh Hasina in Dec last year.
Bangladesh Army chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman (58), a career infantry officer who declared his force was taking over the country’s reins and would soon announce an interim govt, was in fact slated to visit India later this month.
“It would have been Gen Waker-Uz-Zaman’s first foreign visit after becoming the Army chief on June 23 for a three-year tenure. Despite China’s expanding influence in Bangladesh, Dhaka’s bilateral defence ties with New Delhi were on an upswing. But everything is in a state of flux now,” a source said.
Just a month ago, Bangladesh had inked a deal with Indian defence shipyard GRSE in Kolkata to build an 800-tonne advanced ocean-going tug, in the first major deal inked under the $500-million line of credit for defence purchases extended by New Delhi to Dhaka, which was operationalized last year.
The contract coincided with Navy chief Admiral Dinesh Tripathi’s four-day visit to Bangladesh to further consolidate defence ties and explore new avenues for maritime cooperation. Admiral Tripathi held discussions with Gen Waker-Uz-Zaman as well as the naval and air force chiefs, Admiral M Nazmul Hassan and Air Marshal Hasan Mahmood Khan, during the visit.
“Talks were underway for Bangladesh to buy Indian offshore patrol vessels as well as get spares for maintenance for its Russian-origin MiG-29 and Mi-17 helicopters. Apart from joint exercises and capacity-building programmes, Indian military establishments have been training Bangladeshi defence personnel for decades,” the source said.
The Indian defence establishment is now in a wait-and-watch mode to see how events unfold in Bangladesh, including the interim govt’s composition and its impact on bilateral military ties.
“Gen Waker-Uz-Zaman is pro-India. As the principal staff officer of the Armed Forces Division of Bangladesh earlier, he co-chaired with the Indian defence secretary the bilateral annual defence dialogues in 2022 and 2023,” another source said.
“But if the interim govt is filled with representatives from the anti-India Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and radical outfits like Jamaat-e-Islami, matters may well head south. The Jamaat has also spread its influence in the Bangladeshi military over the years,” he added.
Then, there is China. Bangladesh was the second biggest recipient globally of Chinese arms in the 2019-2023 timeframe, notching up 11% of them as compared to 61% of Pakistan.
Overall, Bangladesh sources 70-80% of its arms imports from China, which has ranged from F-7 fighter jets, main-battle tanks and corvettes to naval guns, surface-to-air missiles, rifles and ammunition.
China had even supplied two old Ming-class submarines to Bangladesh at a hugely discounted price in 2016. Apart from a wide variety of civil infrastructure projects, China has also helped Bangladesh build its first full-fledged submarine base at Pekua in Cox’s Bazaar, which was commissioned as BNS Sheikh Hasina in Dec last year.
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