Published: 09:53 AM, 24 October 2024
Maritime Cooperation: A New Avenue for Bangladesh-Japan Strategic Partnership
Badirujjaman
In international relations, the term “Strategic Partnership” has evolved as a significant feature for the extension of bilateral or multilateral relationships. The term was first introduced to academia in the 1990s. It refers to a kind of special relationship that has been developed through mutual practice for a considerable period of time between two or multiple states. Generally, a strategic partnership manifests cooperation and partnership in various areas, including diplomatic, economic, military, socio-cultural and others. This partnership concentrates on promoting norms and values as well as maintaining the rule of law and preventing threats to global peace and security.
In military contexts, security and defense cooperation plays a major role in translating bilateral or multilateral relationships to strategic partnerships. In the maritime context, the security and defense cooperation can help strengthen naval capabilities to deter existing and potential threats, ensuring trade and commercial safe passage, and optimizing maritime blessings, i.e., living and non-living resources properly.As an important part of security and defense cooperation in strategic partnership, maritime cooperation aims to promote maritime domain awareness (MDA) and strengthen maritime capabilities through joint naval exercises, surveillance, and information sharing; emphasizing trade and resource oriented sustainable marine economy through maritime expertise sharing and advancing port facilities with high-tech capacities; securing internal water and beyond shipping lines, trade routes, and choke points; and capacity building for deterring transnational challenges, including degradations of complex marine ecosystems, organized crimes, piracy and trafficking. Furthermore, maritime cooperation is important to protect national interest or survival amid the geopolitical and geostrategic rivalry between or among major powers. However, Bangladesh-Japan’s strategic partnership with a recent focus on security and defense engagement should emphasize the significance of maritime cooperation for the extension of their bilateral strategic partnership.
Bangladesh-Japan bilateral relationship laid the foundation upon the diplomatic recognition ofJapan immediately after the liberation war of Bangladesh in 1972. Mutual gains and regional stability and prosperity have been the guiding principles of this bilateral relations. Bangladesh refers to Japan as the most amicable, or a true friend in need in the journey of Bangladesh’s progress. In 2022, both countries celebrated their golden jubilee of bilateral relations and committed to elevate this relationship to another height.
Japan being a major soft power under the framework of “Cooperation,” engages with its partners, including Bangladesh to optimize the prospects of this cooperation. For Bangladesh, Japan’s economic partnership progressed significantly after introducing the “Comprehensive Partnership” program from Japan to Bangladesh in 2014. Later, in 2023, during the former Bangladesh Prime Minister’s visit to Japan, the Prime Minister of Japan, Mr. Fumio Kishida, addressed Bangladesh-Japan relations as strategic ones, and there is a great prospect to strengthen this strategic partnership alongside their economic cooperation.
In 2023, the Japan- Bangladesh Joint Statement on strategic partnership outlines the future trajectory of this strategic relationship. The statement highlights three key aspects namely, cooperation for peace and regional stability, economic cooperation for mutual gains and prosperity, and cultural extension through people- people connection (MoFA Japan, 2023). Notably, prior to the former PM’s visit to Japan in 2023, Bangladesh introducedits Indo-Pacific Outlook (IPO), which received appreciation from Japan. The IPO was formulated with an inclusive vision similar to Japan’s Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP), which originated in 2016. FOIP is a Japanese innovation of global initiative that originated from the ideas of former Japanese Prime Minister Mr. Shinzo Abe. For Japan, FOIP is an important initiative to secure, connect, and maintain a free and open Indo-Pacific vis-a-vis establish safe navigation of Japanese essential energy supply and commercial vessels.
In the Bangladesh-Japan strategic partnership, maritime cooperation aims to establish an inclusive maritime vision for the Indo-Pacific, particularly for the Bay of Bengal (BoB). Bangladesh, in its IPO,emphasizes the importance of a secure and stable maritime order centered on common values important for stability and progress. This stability and progress are the primary requirements for maritime prosperity, such as harnessing the prospects of “Blue Economy.”
Chinese rapid militarization and the BRI’s “String of Pearl” extension, which are deemed to be a challenge for attaining political ambitions of major powers in the Indo-Pacific Region (IPR). To Balance with this Chinese presence, some security and defence initiatives as well as alliances, such as the QUAD, the Indo-Pacific Strategy, and AUKUS are visible in the IPR. Thus, geopolitical competition appear between India and China in the Indian Ocean, and between China and the US allies in the Pacific. These Competitions Impact the IPR realpolitik outlook, and rise difficulty for smaller states like Bangladesh to pick a side while China has been a major development and strategic partners for these states. For example,for Bangladesh, China has been a tested development partner, and Bangladesh-China bilateral relations have also broadened to a strategic level. Consequently, Bangladesh has to carefully consider the aims and nature of the above mentioned regional initiatives and alliances, and formulate its security and defence cooperation module accordingly. Therefore, the prospects of Bangladesh-Japn maritime cooperation will depend on Japan’s commitment to inclusive, legal, and value oriented FOIP, rather than to security alliance making.
Bangladesh-Japan maritime cooperation can contribute in the maritime security domain of the Indo-Pacific, particularly in the Bay of Bengal (BoB). Japan considers the BoB as a significant sea route that connects the West to East Asia and remains vital for global trade and economy. This baylinksJapan with Western Asia and Europe, and fosters safe passage for Japanese trade and energy supply.Japan priorities India a major partner to safeguard its geo economic necessity in the region. Japan considers Bangladeshalso a potential maritime security provider in the BoB. Thus, the scope of maritime cooperation in Bangladesh-Japan strategic partnership is widening.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan offers various programs, such as “the Official Security Association (OSA),” to its partners. OSA focuses on the modernization of armed forces and other relevant organizations of like-minded nations (MoFA Japan, 2021). In this consideration, within the framework of security and defense cooperation, Japan has provided funding to Bangladesh naval forces to enhance their monitoring, surveillance and disaster relief capacities. For the extension of maritime surveillance capabilities on November 15, 2023, as a parts of its OSA framework Japanese Ambassador to Bangladesh Mr. Iwama Kiminori signed and exchange notes with Bangladesh Armed Forces Division about 575 million yen aid to Bangladesh for four patrol ships (The Daily Star, 2023).Japan regardsBangladesh as the second strategic partner following the Philippines for providing defence aid under the OSA program.
Japan, under these OSA programs, is aimed to strengthen maritime monitoring, surveillance, and disaster relief capabilities ofBangladesh Navy in the BoB (MoFA Japan, 2023). For example, following the visit in 2012, 2019 and 2022, the recent visit to Chittagong, Bangladeshby Japan Maritime Self-Defense Forces (JMSDF) in 2023 signifies Japanese commitment to the security and defence cooperation within this strategic partnership. These visits are regarded as key to maritime security enhancement in the BoB. In 2023’s visit ended with a memorandum of cooperation and exchange programs between them, aimed at prolonging the partnership to establish maritime security and promote regional stability.
Regional stability is critical for all the stakeholders for using the safe routes in the BoB. For instance, instability in Myanmaradversely impacts the regional security paradigm. This instability has spillover effects, particularly for the maritime security domain of the BoB. Furthermore, the Rohingya repatriation issue has not been solved yet. This crisis has become a hub for transnational security threats. However, both crises could exacerbate organized crimes, terrorism, trafficking, piracy, and other security issues,which may challenge the safe navigation across the BoB. To address them, Bangladesh-Japan maritime cooperation can play a vital role. Moreover, some regional initiatives have initiated focusing on the BoB and beyond, such as BIG-B, BIMSTEC, and IPEF- of which both Bangladesh and Japan are also interested- are likely to get affected by the ongoing security crises in the region.
The future prospects for maritime cooperation between Bangladesh and Japan are promising. Joint naval exercises, collaborative maritime surveillance and monitoring, training and capacity-building initiatives for Bangladesh naval forces with advanced maritime technology, including Artificial Intelligence (AI) can well equip and facilitateBangladesh naval forces to effectively counter existing security threats, particularly transnational ones in the Bay of Bengal and beyond.
However, from a realpolitik perspective, Bangladesh must carefully assess the evolving changes in the Indo-Pacific, particularly in the BoB. For Bangladesh and Japan, Bangladesh’s IPO and Japan’s FOIP can solidify their strategic partnership significantly if both align with the principles of inclusivity and values of peace and stability in their maritime cooperation. In short, this cooperation should prioritize the maritime security paradigm and maritime domain awareness, rather than engage in realpolitik rivalry in the Indo-Pacific. Thus, Bangladesh and Japan’s strategic partnership will reach its new heights, and maritime cooperation can be a major component of this partnership.
Badirujjaman is a Research
Officer in Bangladesh Institute of Maritime Research and Development (BIMRAD), Naval Headquarters
Complex, Banani, Dhaka.
