Focus on economic cooperation, security threat mitigation

Foreign policy analysts have called for focusing on economic cooperation and de-escalation of security threats in the Indian Ocean region which is increasingly becoming an area of strategic contestation among the great powers.

They said that transparency in cooperation among the regional countries are fundamental to peace and prosperity.

The observation came at the sixth Indian Ocean Conference, jointly organised by the India Foundation and the foreign ministries of Bangladesh and India, at the InterContinental Dhaka hotel yesterday.

More than 150 representatives, including the top leaders and ministers, from 25 countries are taking part in the two-day event.

According to foreign policy analysts, the Indian Ocean region is becoming much more complex and contested. The US has launched its Indo-Pacific Strategy having defence elements that some analysts say are targeted at China.

China's claims of sovereignty over the South China Sea have antagonised competing claimants Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam.

Analysts say this is the reality when the Indian Ocean nations face some major challenges, including environmental security, human and drug smuggling. But the massive potential of their blue economy largely remains untapped.

The principle that every state is equal, has sovereignty, and maintains international law must be maintained by all. Sinderpal Singh

— Senior fellow at the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies

Sinderpal Singh, senior fellow at the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies of Singapore's S Rajaratnam School of International Studies, said one key way to regional cooperation in the Indian Ocean region is establishing economic corporation and connectivity.

Speaking at a session titled "Rise of a peaceful Indo-Pacific for a resilient global future", he said it may not be the case that all the Indian Ocean states come together for a large alliance, but a few countries can work together on certain issues, for example, environment, which would be very useful.

He said China is making large-scale investments in this region, and the US, as global power, should also make more investments here. The Indo-Pacific Economic Framework can be quite effective, he added.

The expert said the principle that every state is equal, has sovereignty and maintains international law must be maintained by all.

Pankaj Saran, convenor of the Indian think tank Centre for Research on Strategic and Security Studies, said peace and prosperity require some basic things that include equal security for all, trust, openness and transparency.

He said Bangladesh is doing much better in economic and social indicators because of its internal stability and balanced relationship with other countries. But Pakistan and Sri Lanka faced huge problems because of their internal governance and lack of transparency in the implementation of large projects with foreign funds without questions being asked, he added.

Building of certain infrastructures like ports having twin elements of commerce and defence in some countries of the region isalso a matter of concern, said Pankaj, also a former Indian high commissioner to Bangladesh.

He said in such cases, other countries will take counter measures, which make the entire region unstable. Such tendencies must stop, he observed.

David Brewster, senior research fellow at the National Security College of the Australian National University, said effective regioal arrangement in the Indian Ocean region is needed for cooperation and collaboration on environmental security and flourishing the blue economy.

He suggested that small and middle powers of the region forge cooperation and show paths for others to follow.

Former Bangladesh foreign secretary Shamsher Mobin Chowdhury said instability in Myanmar and the Rohingya crisis are hampering the improvement of regional connectivity.

"Ambiguity over Rohingya crisis is not an option," he said, adding that this problem could be a security issue for the entire region.

Speaking to reporters, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam said Bangladesh does not have any military ambition.

"We want to improve the lives of our people, and establish peace and stability. Our Indo-Pacific Outlook also has the vision of having friendly relationship with other countries," he said.

Bangladesh's former ambassador Tariq Karim, India Foundation Governing Council Member Shaurya Doval, and Indian Council of World Affairs Director Geeral Vijay Thakur Singh, among others, spoke at separate sessions of the event.