Bangladesh, a major buyer of weapons from China, has accused Chinese companies of supplying faulty parts and technical problems with its imported military hardware. The Bangladesh military has accused Chinese companies of supplying faulty spare parts for corvettes, petrol crafts, and onshore patrol vehicles, with manufacturing defects and technical challenges.
The Bangladesh Air Guard has not shied away from pointing out the specific technical problems they have encountered. They have alleged issues with the Chinese-made F-7 fighter jets, as well as short-range air defense systems. Furthermore, they have faced significant challenges with firing ammunition for their Chinese-made K-8W aircraft.
Bangladesh is currently grounded in an entire fleet of K-8W trainer and F-7 fighter aircraft manufactured by China due to avionics and structural issues.
Bangladesh Air Guard officers, on condition of anonymity, told Global Defense Corp that the Bangladesh military’s corruption, ineptness, and unwillingness to sign security agreements with the USA, Italy, France, UK, and Germany are primary reasons the Bangladesh military remains in poor conditions and demoralizes the officers and soldiers.
Bangladesh, a major buyer of weapons from China for decades, has complained to Beijing about Beijing supplying faulty parts and technical problems with its imported military hardware.
People familiar with the matter told Global Defense Corp that the Bangladesh military has recently accused Chinese companies of supplying faulty spare parts for its corvettes, petrol crafts, and onshore patrol vehicles. The vessels were detected with manufacturing defects and technical challenges.
China has been a major supplier of equipment and platforms to neighbouring countries, including Bangladesh, which has purchased arms from China. Financial Express Online has reported that Bangladesh has bought two conventional diesel-electric submarines. It has two Ming-class submarines and four Corvettes.
Chinese China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation designed the Padma class offshore patrol boats of the Bangladesh Navy. These boats notoriously broke down many times and became inoperable when Bangladesh faced increasing hostility from the Myanmar navy, which tried to occupy Saint Martins’ islands.
Faulty Indian Weapons Lasted For Just Three Months
Bangladesh has identified several pieces of equipment that the Indian side is considering in different stages. These will be procured through the $500 million Line of Credit that India extended in 2018, which must be utilized by the end of April 2029.
The Bangladesh Army has given its approval for three platforms under the $500 million Line of Credit, and these include 11 Mine Protective Vehicles from the Tata Group at an approximate cost of US$2.2 million; seven portable steel bridges (Bailey) which will cost around $2.2 million; and five Bridge Layer Tanks (BLT-72) for approximately $10 million.
It also plans to procure bulletproof helmets, heavy recovery vehicles, armored engineer reconnaissance vehicles, Mahindra XUV 500 off-road vehicles, and other hard-top vehicles from the same company for around $2.35 million. Many other proposals are related to modernizing and extending the assembly unit for a machine tools factory.
A spokesperson from the Bangladesh army’s Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), speaking on the condition of anonymity, has revealed the dire consequences of the situation. They have stated that Indian equipment, upon which they heavily rely, frequently breaks down and becomes inoperable within a shockingly short period of just three months after receiving it.
Since Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League party came to power in 2009, she has acted to abide by New Delhi’s pressure to surrender Bangladesh’s sovereign interest even in the event of extremely hostile Myanmar.
India and Bangladesh commenced the annual joint military exercise SAMPRITI. Through these military exercises, Indian intelligence RAW was successfully recruited, bribed, and forced Bangladesh military officers to collude with Indian defence companies and purchase low-quality military hardware in the name of bilateral defence cooperation initiatives.
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