Bangladesh-India defence cooperation

Avery important visit of our prime minister, the twice rescheduled visit to India will now take place between April 7 and April 10. And of the several "deals", "understandings" and "agreements" that one hears about likely to be signed, a defence deal between the two countries has been the most talked about issue. But regrettably it is only through the Indian media that we have come to know, whatever little that we know, of a likely "agreement" in the defence sector. The first to break the news about a possible Bangladesh-India defence "agreement" was the Indian print media. And that too is very scanty. And what our media has done is at best reproduce and rephrase those reports. Thus there is perhaps very little to read between the lines since there are very few substantive lines to read.

To start with, we do not know what the character of the deal would be. Will it be a defence "pact" as one Indian journalist would have us believe, or will it be, as per several others, a "comprehensive defence agreement" or a "treaty"? And will it be time bound or open ended? Whatever may be the compact, it is likely to encompass the entire gamut of military activity – training, sale of military hardware and military to military cooperation in other fields. And Delhi is even willing to cough up 500 million dollars in line of credit for military cooperation. Interestingly, this marks a significant shift in India's policy of offering credit for purchase of weapons and equipment, which heretofore India has been unwilling to offer. This is quite a lot of money, and God knows India needs every penny to refurbish its own arsenal, a good percentage of which is becoming obsolescent. And all this to offset the so-called Bangladesh's dependence on PRC in the defence sector.   

According to reports emanating from India, Bangladesh is not agreeable to a defense pact or treaty, and if at all, would like to have a less formal and less binding arrangement like a "memorandum of understanding". Obviously, there is no compulsion for Bangladesh to go for a treaty that would inevitably, as any treaty does, restrict the strategic options for the country, whatever the positives of such an arrangement might be.

But while Bangladesh may not feel the need for a defence agreement, India apparently does. What has raised its concern is the level of Bangladesh-China military cooperation, the addition of two Chinese submarines exacerbating India's worry, and something it has not made secret of.

Regrettably, we do not have any idea about the Bangladesh government's stand on the matter. In an ideal set up, such proposals would be thoroughly hammered out in the floor of the parliament. Of course not all memorandums are put under the scanner in the floor of the house, but a proposed MOU that deals with defence is not just another understanding, the ramifications are wide with long-term security implications.

One of the proposals, for example, is coordinated operations against mutually perceived threats. Admittedly the nitty-gritty will have to be worked out, most importantly the modalities of operation and selection of targets and force organisation for a particular task and command and control arrangements. But while some threats may be perceived as mutual, some may not be, and the intended manner of dealing with those may vary.

Another proposal that one hears about is a joint venture to develop our maritime infrastructure. And that perhaps will involve, among other things, cooperation with our dockyards that have become a huge force multiplier. What will be the long-term implications of such cooperation with India in a particular segment of our defence production and acquisition is a matter for deliberation. Any defence production of necessity involves deployment of substantial amount of resources in research and development which invariably encompasses the realm of science and technology and long-term planning. The question is how much, if at all, should we share our strategic designs that motivate our defence schemes with a second party which is involved in our defence production?

We understand that India has offered weapons and armaments at competitive price. Given that India happens to be the largest importer of weapons, and India does export weapons to several countries, will it have surplus from its stock to meet our demands and our standards? More importantly, when one goes about shopping for weapons, price is not necessarily the overriding factor that determines one's choice.

While we wait for more details of all the deals, agreements and MOUs to emerge, one feels that any sectoral agreement or deal has to be seen in the wider context of Indo-Bangladesh relations. And in any case Bangladesh as already addressed the most pressing Indian concern of Indian insurgent activities along our borders, and that without any formal "defence deal." Given that, we wonder whether there is at all need for a formal defence "agreement". 

The writer is Associate Editor, The Daily Star.