Bangladesh, Japan to open defense, security wings in near future

By Md. Kamruzzaman

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AA) - Bangladesh and Japan have agreed to set up separate diplomatic sections in their respective embassies for defense and security matters.

In a joint statement late on Wednesday, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his visiting Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina said they would consider opening a Defense Wing in Tokyo and National Security Wing in Dhaka in the near future

"They (Kishida and Hasina) concurred to enhance dialogues among the respective diplomatic and defense authorities in order to identify possible ways to strengthen the security cooperation," said the joint statement, released after a meeting between the two leaders.

At Kishida's invitation, Hasina is currently in Tokyo for an official four-day visit that began on Tuesday. Upon her departure, she will move on to the US and UK for a three-nation tour to last a total of 15 days.

On the future of their countries, the two Asian leaders also welcomed the start of talks on an agreement about defense equipment and technology transfers.

During the meeting, Kishida said Japan was working to fundamentally reinforce its defense capabilities and strengthen diplomatic efforts according to its new strategies on national security and defense.

For her part, Hasina shared Bangladesh's plans to further modernize its armed forces, while the two leaders also acknowledged efforts by both countries to contribute to their regional security.

The statement said they agreed to continue promoting security cooperation by such initiatives as "mutual visits by vessels and aircraft, unit-to-unit exchange, training programmes and goodwill exercises."

The agreement came as Bangladesh hosts growing security investments by Japan, which is also a major development partner of the South Asian nation, according to Imtiaz Ahmed, diplomatic analyst based in Dhaka.

Issues like the Rohingya crisis, regional connectivity, terrorism, the blue economy, and other mutual and regional issues were discussed during the meeting.

According to the statement, the two premiers affirmed that a maritime order based on common values such as freedom of navigation was a "cornerstone for stability and prosperity of the international community" and that the use of the sea as global commons would help develop the blue economy.

They expressed their commitment to fully observing the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and vowed that any unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force or coercion and to increase tensions that could undermine regional stability and the rules-based international order were unacceptable.

Expressing concern on unrest and violence in Myanmar, they called for an end to armed conflict in the Southeast Asian Buddhist-majority nation, as well as the release of those detained following a military coup in February 2021, the upholding of a democratic process, and urgent implementation of a consensus on resolution by the regional Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) bloc.

Kishida underlined Japan's support for the sustainable, safe, voluntary, and dignified repatriation of displaced Rohingya to Myanmar.

On the Russia-Ukraine war, he and Hasina pointed to the related UN General Assembly resolutions and noted that the conflict constituted a violation of international law, in particular the UN Charter, and was a serious threat to the international rules-based order.

Meanwhile, Summit Group, one of the largest corporations in Bangladesh, signed a $2 billion Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Thursday with JERA Asia Pte Ltd, a subsidiary Japanese energy giant JERA Co. Inc.

The two firms agreed to collaborate in providing long-term supply of liquefied natural gas and other fuels to Bangladesh, in addition to developing both on-shore and off-shore regasification and storage infrastructure in the South Asian country, according to a statement by Summit Group.

*SM Najmus Sakib contributed to this story