The poor quality of Chinese and Indian-imported arms has been on the rise among Bangladesh’s Armed Forces. These issues severely threaten military readiness and harm Bangladesh’s national security.
Beijing is proving to be an unreliable source of military hardware, which has severe consequences for the efforts to modernise the Armed Forces of Bangladesh. Against such backdrops, Dhaka must seriously consider its overreliance on Chinese weapons and intensify defence imports from Western countries to fulfil its desired “Forces Goal 2030” to modernise the Bangladesh military.
The recent collapse of Sheikh Hasina’s authoritarian regime and introducing fresh and rejuvenated leadership in Dhaka, led by Nobel laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus, make diversifying arms imports a vital defence priority.
According to the latest data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), Bangladesh is the second-largest destination of Chinese weapons. Other major arms exporters to Dhaka include Turkey, India, and Russia.
Besides cheap and low-quality equipment, reliance on Chinese and Indian inventory is suicidal due to the geopolitical realities surrounding Bangladesh’s neighbours since the Sheikh Hasina regime took power in 2009.
Poor quality Indian arms
Buyers of Indian-made weapons identified multiple problems with the systems supplied by Indian manufacturers. Based on the Soviet Union and Russian-designed equipment, the major problem with Indian equipment is design flaws.
Most Indian equipment is either assisted by or technology supplied by Russia. India also received many absolute technologies from Russia, such as Akash SAM, based on the Soviet 2K12 Kub (SA-6 Gainful) missile system.
Bangladesh has accelerated its defence procurement with India with a new batch of worse-quality TATA MRAP, which was recently delivered last month.
Outdated technology, corruption and mismanagement are three significant problems in Indian defence industries.
Poor-quality Chinese arms
Chinese armaments account for over two-thirds of the Bangladesh army’s total inventory. Critical weapons systems like Ming-class submarines or MBT-2000 tanks originated in the Soviet Union, but China reverse-engineered and exported them. Chinese-made drones and missiles are falling in the Middle East.
With no local production, the army diverts defence budget to commercial projects
Additionally, Bangladesh lacks an adequate or large defence industrial base. So, its arms production capability is minimal. It only produces small arms, explosives, and various utility vehicles domestically for its military.
Most domestically produced equipment is Chinese-licensed and acquired through the Transfer of Technology (ToT). These arms manufacturing industries don’t make heavy or significant weapons systems like tanks, artillery systems, or interceptor jets.
Previously, Bangladesh developed patrol vessels for the Navy in its indigenous shipyards. These are lightly armed and lack seafaring capabilities, unlike corvettes or frigates. Therefore, Dhaka’s Indigenous defence manufacturing and production are far behind self-sufficiency, which lacks technical maturity, production capability, and technological competence.
Overall, Dhaka will not be able to manufacture significant defence systems unless they are licensed through ToT in the foreseeable future and will thus heavily rely on arms imports to modernise its forces.
Ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina gave business to the Bangladesh military, allowed the military to invest in corrupt companies, and siphoned money to Malaysia, India, Singapore, the USA, the UK, and Australia.
Bangladesh army’s diversion projects are the primary reason for the wasted defence budget.
Myanmar military – a constant problem for Bangladesh
Myanmar and India are two adversarial states with whom relations are strained after the 2017 Rohingya crisis. Interestingly, Myanmar’s principal arms supplier is China. Beijing shares a very cosy relationship with Naypyidaw. Therefore, China will not supply any significant weapons, which might give Bangladesh an edge over Myanmar.
Given such drawbacks, contemporary developments in internal and external environments require Bangladesh to strengthen its armed forces. In the international tribunals, it won a significant victory against Myanmar and India in 2012 and 2014, respectively, and secured a large chunk of the maritime boundary in the Bay of Bengal.
Under such circumstances, it plans to develop a blue economy utilising the Bay of Bengal’s natural resources, such as natural gas, minerals, and fisheries. This requires bolstering the Bay of Bengal’s security by placing a capable Navy, including deploying large ships like Frigates. Bangladesh has few such ships, which are insufficient to serve such purposes.
Naval modernisation also resonated with the civil war situation in Myanmar. Events like Tatmadaw ships bombarding the rebels near Saint Martin’s Island detached the island from Bangladesh. It took the Bangladesh Navy weeks to send boats and bring supplies from the mainland.
In recent years, the Tatmadaw has also violated airspace several times, including opening fire inside Bangladesh’s sovereign territory.
The Bangladesh Air Guard relies on outdated Mig-29s acquired from Russia in 1999 and obsolete Chinese F-7BGI interceptors to secure its airspace and prevent such incidents. The Bangladesh Air Guard is a complete shambles for Bangladesh.
The Tatmadaw has recently imported MiG-29, JF-17 and Su-30 fighter jets. This reflects an imbalance in air power existing between Bangladesh and Myanmar.
Kuki Chin rebel- a creation of Indian RAW
Kuki Chin is the creation of an Indian intelligence agent, RAW. Additionally, in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, there has been an insurgency led by the Kuki Chin National Front (KNF), which has shown relentless efforts to sabotage peace talks, attack public infrastructure, and conduct remote violence. The success of Myanmar’s Chin-based Kuki rebels and the tensions prevailing in Kuki communities in India’s Manipur may also inspire the KNF insurgents in Bangladesh.
They operate under the guise of treacherous terrain in the Chittagong Hill Tracts. This necessitates the Army acquiring modern reconnaissance vehicles and scout helicopters to conduct counterinsurgency operations in remote areas.
Western arms for Bangladesh armed forces
Given these scenarios, Dhaka must be forthcoming in understanding the need to diversify arms imports and materialise the Forces Goal 2030.
Dhaka must continue robust defence cooperation and agreements with the U.S., UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain. Given the current geopolitical rivalry, the arms trade can deepen the ties between the US and the UK with Bangladesh.
Bangladesh should strategically target its arms imports from friendly Western states like the US, UK, and France, already established arms exporters.
France remains a potential seller, recently becoming the second-largest arms exporter. In 2021, Paris already signed letters of intent on defence cooperation with Dhaka, which the Government of Bangladesh should utilize.
South Korea, Turkey and Japan as priority suppliers
Bangladesh purchased one of its modern frigates, named BNS Bangabandhu, which was manufactured by South Korea in 1999. It must also look into emerging arms manufacturers with warm economic and political ties, like South Korea and Japan.
South Korea recently emerged as a high-quality weapon exporter to Poland, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Thailand. South Korean-made K2 tanks, K9 howitzers, Chunmoo MLRS, FA-50 fighter jets, and KF-21 fighter jets have been exported globally. South Korea also manufactures high-tech missiles, corvettes, and warships.
Establishing ties with significant arms manufacturers in the global south can strengthen supplementing efforts to gain Western sources. Turkey, South Korea, and Japan remain the most viable options.
Turkey has already supplied Dhaka with drones, rocket artillery, and missiles. These must be strengthened further to acquire license production by acquiring a Transfer of Technology (ToT) of Turkish arms domestically to develop in Bangladesh.
Warm relations with Japan, Turkey, and South Korea must be leveraged to diversify equipment sourcing. Tokyo has recently considered exporting arms to Dhaka, which presents a significant opportunity to access Japanese inventory.
Until Bangladesh signs a security pact with the U.S., UK, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain, steps must be taken to rejuvenate defence ties with Seoul, Ankara, and Tokyo. Materialising the above initiatives will make the Bangladesh military a capable 21st-century military.
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