Bangladesh's move to allow installation of Indian radars in its coastal region should not be a cause of concern for others, Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen said on Tuesday.
The minister said this when he was asked whether this move would affect Bangladesh's bilateral ties with China.
"It will not affect anything," the minister said.
The step was taken to enhance our surveillance on the coastal area to curb the activities of pirates. Our surveillance system on coastal area was limited, now it would be better, he argued.
So it should not be a cause of concern for others, the minister categorically said.
Bangladesh and India signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on "the Establishment of Coastal Surveillance Radar System in Bangladesh," on October 06, during Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's recent visit to New Delhi.
Bangladesh has at present no costal surveillance system. The costal surveillance radar has a range of 50 kilometres and is capable of detecting boats smaller than 20 metres, said officials. 20 such radars will be installed in the coast region of Bangladesh if the MoU is implemented, reports Indian media.
Recently, Bangladesh has decided to set up a submarine base in Cox's Bazar with Chinese support after Dhaka acquired two conventional submarines from Beijing. This caused serious concern among the Indian policymakers.
According to the Indian daily, the Deccan Herald, Dhaka gave the green light for the radar system about three weeks after the Indian Navy said it had tracked seven Chinese Navy warships sailing in the Indian Ocean.
The radar systems would go a long way in assuaging India's concerns over the growing influence of China and the presence of Chinese warships in the Bay of Bengal region, said the newspaper.
Indian media reports also said, in August last year, Indian Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba told reporters that 14 Chinese Navy ships had been spotted in the Indian Ocean.
Quoting Indian defence officials, influential Indian magazine India Today said, Beijing had deployed a Type 039A Yuan-class attack submarine in the Indian Ocean in October 2018 - the eighth such deployment in the region - for what China calls anti-piracy patrols.
"The last submarine in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) was also a Yuan class SSK with the Chinese Navy support ship, in June 2017," it added.
© 2024 - All Rights with The Financial Express
