India’s Proposed Defence Pact: Dhaka uneasy

Leaving aside several bilateral issues, including the unresolved Teesta water-sharing deal, India has proposed a long-term comprehensive defence pact with Bangladesh that encompasses training, sale of military hardware and wide range of military to military cooperation.

Highly placed official sources said though discussions are still going on, India is expecting to sign a comprehensive, 25-year framework agreement on bilateral defence cooperation during Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's upcoming state visit to India on April 7-10.

According to sources, India in its proposed agreement also wants coordinated operations against mutually perceived threats.

Prime Minister of Bangladesh will be visiting India on an invitation extended by Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi, according to a joint announcement made yesterday simultaneously in Dhaka and New Delhi.

Along with the military cooperation agreement, India has also offered a $500 million line of credit to Bangladesh for the purchase of military hardware, including purchasing of fast patrol craft for the coastguards, radar, and other items for air defence. 

Bangladesh, however, is still reluctant to sign such an agreement in the area of defence which India is pushing for. Dhaka is reluctant about such a long-term framework agreement, sources say. Instead it prefers to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which would be less formal and would have no time frame.

Bangladesh is heavily dependent on China for its defence, but the government amid Indian push has taken the view that a traditionally close defence relationship with China needs to be balanced by strengthening defence cooperation with India and Russia too, according to experts and sources.