Move seeks to enhance military might in Bay of Bengal
Dhaka: Bangladesh has commissioned its first domestically-produced warship in bid to enhance its military might in the Bay of Bengal.
Dedicating the BNS Padma at the port city of Khulna to the nation, Prime Minister Shaikh Hasina said the Navy will be equipped with submarines that will work as a “deterrent force” to counter-balance the economic and military activities of its neighbours.
“Inshallah, we will be able to build a modern tri-dimensional naval force for the future generation, which will be able to face challenges during foreign aggression,” she told the gathering.
She said: “The Bay of Bengal is witnessing enhanced economic and military activities… [and] I am hopeful that we would be able to make special contribution to global maritime security.”
Hasina did not elaborate how many submarines the country would procure in future, but reports said negotiations were under way with China for the purchase while steps were taken to build Navy’s own air base at the Harbour. Even a special force SWADS has been formed to protect the country’s maritime areas.
Officials said four more homemade battleships were set to join the fleet shortly.
The BNS Padma is 50 metres long and 7.5 metres wide. The navy said it was capable of attaining speeds of 44km/h. It is equipped with four 37 millimetre and two 20mm cannons to resist land and air attacks.
Hasina’s comments came a week after Bangladesh signed the country’s biggest ever single defence deal with Russia to procure defense hardware worth $1billion against the backdrop of slanted opposition allegations that the ruling Awami League was opposed to strengthening the armed forces.
She said Bangladesh was not a country that sought wars as “we want peace, but we need to be prepared to defend ourselves” and the Navy had to be modernised to protect its territorial waters.
Bangladesh last year won its litigation over disputed maritime boundaries with Myanmar at the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea and expected the country to win the pending litigation with India too. “We will win this case against India also,” Hasina said.
Source: Gulfnews