bigbossman
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Bangladesh Armed Forces: Challenges for the future
BANGLADESH armed forces have come a long way since the Liberation War in 1971. Starting as a small guerilla force composed of Bengali elements of Pakistan army who joined the Liberation War to form the core fighting force of the Mukti Bahini(Liberation Force), today it is a fairly large force, well-trained and well-armed. The armed forces have developed over the last four decades as a well-organised force capable of not only performing the primary role of defending the country's frontier from external aggression and internal subversion, but also increasingly and successfully helping in the task of nation-building. Ours is a force preferred by the UN for its global peacekeeping and peace enforcement missions. They have been our ambassadors abroad, earning gratitude of millions of people in strife-torn, war-ravaged, disaster-stricken parts of the world. Today, as we prepare to celebrate Armed Forces Day, it would be pertinent to take stock of the current situation and prepare for the future.
Bangladesh, despite many urgent priorities, has been spending about 1.5% of its GDP on defence, which is one of the largest sectors of government spending. As a result, the Army has grown from a force of 3 brigades in the early 1970s to its current strength of 8 divisions. It is a well-equipped force with tanks, artillery and missiles. The Air Force grew from virtual zero to its current component of modern combat aircraft, attack helicopters, long-range transport aircraft and a whole range of air defence systems. Bangladesh Navy too grew from a few patrol boats to its present component of modern missile-armed fighting ships, maritime patrol aircraft and soon to join submarine. This will give the Navy a 3-dimentional capability -- in the air, on the surface and underwater. The armed forces, that used to be a “men only” organisation, is today recruiting women in increasing numbers, a great step forward in a society that remains bound by its age-old traditions. With all these investments, the nation can ask: “Are the forces capable of meeting the defence needs of the county -- for the present and in the future?”
Bangladesh military is primarily designed to fight a conventional battle against external aggression. Happily for us, that threat is minimal, at present and in near future. Our land and maritime boundares with Myanmar are well-demarcated. We share over 4,000 km border with India, and that too is demarcated, except for few stretches totaling about 9 km that are considered disputed. There are other issues such as enclaves and adverse possessed land (APL) that are in the process of negotiated settlement. The issue of water sharing of the common rivers, which often strains India-Bangladesh relations, has no military solution. There is no dispute between the two countries that could erupt into military confrontation. Moreover, the substantial military capabilities that Bangladesh has attained act as deterrence to any external military adventurism.
Notwithstanding localised conflict, nations today seek peaceful dialogue to settle their differences. However, there have been new emerging threats that need military intervention, often beyond the border. These threats are lumped under non-traditional threats.
Non-traditional threats can be broadly put under two categories: manmade and natural. Manmade threats include terrorism, arms and drug smuggling, human trafficking, organised crime, money laundering, cybercrime etc. Natural threats include flood, cyclone and tidal surge, earthquake, global warming, deforestation, pollution, pandemics etc. These threats can often pose as existential crisis to the nation and may demand military assistance and intervention. Military forces are increasingly called upon to play their part in the non-traditional roles. As such, defence forces have to bring in necessary changes in their organisational structures and force planning to fit in their new roles. Bangladesh military is no exception.
Let us take the case of terrorism. In the highly globalised world, terrorism too is globalised. Terrorism has no frontier or nationality. Bangladesh military might have to fight terrorism not only inside Bangladesh but, when called upon by the international community, it might fight in distant land. In case of operations against international terrorist organisations, such as al-Qaeda, ISIL, Boko Haram or the Taliban, the fight can be bloody, fierce and long. Fighting these terrorist forces involves appropriate tactics and strategy, weapons and materiel, training and motivation. A well-coordinated multi-national force with a long term strategy along with appropriate tactics and technology is the answer. However, it is easier said than done. Bangladesh forces, when part of a multi-national contingent, may find themselves operating along with forces that speak different languages, are equipped with different weapons and employ different tactics. These impediments have to be overcome to form a cohesive multi-national force.
Arms and drug smuggling too have attained international dimension and might see Bangladesh forces deployed overseas. There is a strong nexus in our part of the world between drug and arms smugglers of Myanmar, the Islamist militants in Bangladesh and Maoist insurgents in India. Those who are involved in arms and drug smuggling are often involved in human trafficking too. To support their illegal activities, they have to clandestinely collect and transfer funds through forged documents and bank accounts. Therefore, keeping a check on money laundering is a major task of the security forces. Military forces have a clear role in supporting all these counter-terrorism activities. In the case of natural disasters such as cyclone, earthquake etc. military forces are often deployed overseas.
Even fighting pandemics such as the on-going Ebola virus outbreak in Central Africa has shown that military forces are often the best option to enforce movement control across and within the country. The armed forces of Bangladesh will, therefore, have to be organised, equipped and trained to fight overseas in a variety of missions that are often far removed from conventional threat scenario for which they are primarily trained. This demands that the soldiers and officers have to be better educated, able to converse at least in English and preferably a third language, and have a good understanding of different cultures, religions and social norms. Now that women are taking over more active and visible role in the military, we need to train our forces to be more gender sensitive than ever before. Commanders at all levels have to be alert against any cases of sexual harassment. These are new challenges that need to be addressed.
Because most military operations are going to be multi-national efforts, UN or other international organisations are now focusing on how best military forces of different nations could operate under a joint umbrella to combat common threats, natural or manmade. In our region, we need to hold joint civil-military exercises under the umbrella of Saarc, Bimstec, Asean etc., where doctrines and interoperability could be tested and improved. Only through realistic multi-national training could we hope to achieve success when the real test comes.
Bangladesh military is an important partner in our quest for national progress. From building roads, bridges and dykes to training doctors, nurses, engineers and technicians -- the military is involved in the nation-building process. While concentrating on its primary mission of defense of the country, it is supplementing the national efforts to turn the huge youth population into highly productive manpower. In conclusion, it can be stated that in peace and in war, at present and into the future, Bangladesh armed forces remain relevant to the national goals and objectives.
BANGLADESH armed forces have come a long way since the Liberation War in 1971. Starting as a small guerilla force composed of Bengali elements of Pakistan army who joined the Liberation War to form the core fighting force of the Mukti Bahini(Liberation Force), today it is a fairly large force, well-trained and well-armed. The armed forces have developed over the last four decades as a well-organised force capable of not only performing the primary role of defending the country's frontier from external aggression and internal subversion, but also increasingly and successfully helping in the task of nation-building. Ours is a force preferred by the UN for its global peacekeeping and peace enforcement missions. They have been our ambassadors abroad, earning gratitude of millions of people in strife-torn, war-ravaged, disaster-stricken parts of the world. Today, as we prepare to celebrate Armed Forces Day, it would be pertinent to take stock of the current situation and prepare for the future.
Bangladesh, despite many urgent priorities, has been spending about 1.5% of its GDP on defence, which is one of the largest sectors of government spending. As a result, the Army has grown from a force of 3 brigades in the early 1970s to its current strength of 8 divisions. It is a well-equipped force with tanks, artillery and missiles. The Air Force grew from virtual zero to its current component of modern combat aircraft, attack helicopters, long-range transport aircraft and a whole range of air defence systems. Bangladesh Navy too grew from a few patrol boats to its present component of modern missile-armed fighting ships, maritime patrol aircraft and soon to join submarine. This will give the Navy a 3-dimentional capability -- in the air, on the surface and underwater. The armed forces, that used to be a “men only” organisation, is today recruiting women in increasing numbers, a great step forward in a society that remains bound by its age-old traditions. With all these investments, the nation can ask: “Are the forces capable of meeting the defence needs of the county -- for the present and in the future?”
Bangladesh military is primarily designed to fight a conventional battle against external aggression. Happily for us, that threat is minimal, at present and in near future. Our land and maritime boundares with Myanmar are well-demarcated. We share over 4,000 km border with India, and that too is demarcated, except for few stretches totaling about 9 km that are considered disputed. There are other issues such as enclaves and adverse possessed land (APL) that are in the process of negotiated settlement. The issue of water sharing of the common rivers, which often strains India-Bangladesh relations, has no military solution. There is no dispute between the two countries that could erupt into military confrontation. Moreover, the substantial military capabilities that Bangladesh has attained act as deterrence to any external military adventurism.
Notwithstanding localised conflict, nations today seek peaceful dialogue to settle their differences. However, there have been new emerging threats that need military intervention, often beyond the border. These threats are lumped under non-traditional threats.
Non-traditional threats can be broadly put under two categories: manmade and natural. Manmade threats include terrorism, arms and drug smuggling, human trafficking, organised crime, money laundering, cybercrime etc. Natural threats include flood, cyclone and tidal surge, earthquake, global warming, deforestation, pollution, pandemics etc. These threats can often pose as existential crisis to the nation and may demand military assistance and intervention. Military forces are increasingly called upon to play their part in the non-traditional roles. As such, defence forces have to bring in necessary changes in their organisational structures and force planning to fit in their new roles. Bangladesh military is no exception.
Let us take the case of terrorism. In the highly globalised world, terrorism too is globalised. Terrorism has no frontier or nationality. Bangladesh military might have to fight terrorism not only inside Bangladesh but, when called upon by the international community, it might fight in distant land. In case of operations against international terrorist organisations, such as al-Qaeda, ISIL, Boko Haram or the Taliban, the fight can be bloody, fierce and long. Fighting these terrorist forces involves appropriate tactics and strategy, weapons and materiel, training and motivation. A well-coordinated multi-national force with a long term strategy along with appropriate tactics and technology is the answer. However, it is easier said than done. Bangladesh forces, when part of a multi-national contingent, may find themselves operating along with forces that speak different languages, are equipped with different weapons and employ different tactics. These impediments have to be overcome to form a cohesive multi-national force.
Arms and drug smuggling too have attained international dimension and might see Bangladesh forces deployed overseas. There is a strong nexus in our part of the world between drug and arms smugglers of Myanmar, the Islamist militants in Bangladesh and Maoist insurgents in India. Those who are involved in arms and drug smuggling are often involved in human trafficking too. To support their illegal activities, they have to clandestinely collect and transfer funds through forged documents and bank accounts. Therefore, keeping a check on money laundering is a major task of the security forces. Military forces have a clear role in supporting all these counter-terrorism activities. In the case of natural disasters such as cyclone, earthquake etc. military forces are often deployed overseas.
Even fighting pandemics such as the on-going Ebola virus outbreak in Central Africa has shown that military forces are often the best option to enforce movement control across and within the country. The armed forces of Bangladesh will, therefore, have to be organised, equipped and trained to fight overseas in a variety of missions that are often far removed from conventional threat scenario for which they are primarily trained. This demands that the soldiers and officers have to be better educated, able to converse at least in English and preferably a third language, and have a good understanding of different cultures, religions and social norms. Now that women are taking over more active and visible role in the military, we need to train our forces to be more gender sensitive than ever before. Commanders at all levels have to be alert against any cases of sexual harassment. These are new challenges that need to be addressed.
Because most military operations are going to be multi-national efforts, UN or other international organisations are now focusing on how best military forces of different nations could operate under a joint umbrella to combat common threats, natural or manmade. In our region, we need to hold joint civil-military exercises under the umbrella of Saarc, Bimstec, Asean etc., where doctrines and interoperability could be tested and improved. Only through realistic multi-national training could we hope to achieve success when the real test comes.
Bangladesh military is an important partner in our quest for national progress. From building roads, bridges and dykes to training doctors, nurses, engineers and technicians -- the military is involved in the nation-building process. While concentrating on its primary mission of defense of the country, it is supplementing the national efforts to turn the huge youth population into highly productive manpower. In conclusion, it can be stated that in peace and in war, at present and into the future, Bangladesh armed forces remain relevant to the national goals and objectives.
