India wants Bangladesh to move fast to clear way for installing coastal radars

India is keen to speed up installation of a network of radar systems along the coastline of Bangladesh, ostensibly to add to its capability to keep watch on the Indian Ocean region, which has been witnessing increasing forays by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) over the past few years.

As Prime Minister Narendra Modi hosted his counterpart Sheikh Hasina in New Delhi, India nudged Bangladesh to clear the way for expeditious installation of the radar systems. India reiterated its request to Bangladesh for implementing the 2019 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for providing a coastal radar system for greater maritime security at an early date, according to a joint statement issued by the two governments on Wednesday, a day after the meeting between the two prime ministers.

Modi and Hasina also agreed for early finalisation of projects under the $500 million Line of Credit which India had extended to Bangladesh in 2017 to help it procure military hardware and strengthen the capability of its armed forces. Bangladesh finalised the first contract to buy vehicles for its armed forces utilising the credit line extended by India.

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The new network of Coastal Surveillance Radar Systems in Bangladesh will help India, not only to detect any seaborne terrorist attack along its eastern coastline, but also to keep watch on its maritime neighbourhood, where the Chinese PLAN has been frequently deploying its warships over the past few years.

Though the MoU was signed in October 2019, the project could not take off in the past three years, not only due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but also due to dilly-dallying on part of the Government of Bangladesh to clear the way for India to install the radar systems, sources in New Delhi told DH.

Beijing is understood to have conveyed to Dhaka its concerns over New Delhi’s move to install coastal radar systems in Bangladesh, one of the South Asian theatres of India-China strategic rivalry. Hasina’s Awami League government, however, publicly stated that the project would not hurt Bangladesh-China relations and the coastal radar systems would rather help it protect the country’s fishermen against piracy attempts.

But lack of progress on the project caused unease in New Delhi and prompted India to take it up with Bangladesh.

New Delhi has already set up coastal radar systems in three Indian Ocean nations Seychelles, Mauritius and Maldives.

India is also set to get another strategic edge against China in the Indian Ocean region as decks have been cleared for Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) based in Bengaluru to build a Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre in Sri Lanka.