Bimstec security chiefs discuss Bay of Bengal region security

In a bid to enhance cooperation in countering security challenges in the Bay of Bengal region, the national security chiefs of the Bimstec countries held their first meeting here on Tuesday.

"The meeting noted that Bimstec member-states face common security challenges and underlined the necessity of addressing traditional and non-traditional security challenges to harness economic prosperity and human security in the region," the External Affairs Ministry said in a statement after the meeting.

"The meeting underscored the importance of recognising the Bay of Bengal as common security space and agreed to work out collective strategies for common responses," it stated.

"Given that terrorism continues to remain the single most significant threat to peace and stability in the Bay of Bengal region, the Meeting recognised the need for urgent measures to counter and prevent the spread of terrorism, violent extremism and radicalisation and decided to take concrete measures to enhance cooperation and coordination among their law enforcement, intelligence and security organisations and enhance capacity building."

The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (Bimstec) is a regional grouping of Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bhutan and Nepal.

With the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) regional group increasingly becoming ineffective mainly due to non-cooperation by Pakistan on several issues, India has been giving more importance to the Bimstec regional grouping in recent times.

Tuesday's meeting was in pursuance of the decisions taken at the Bimstec Leaders' Retreat held in Goa in October last year on the sidelines of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) Summit.

The meeting on Tuesday was chaired by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and was attended by Major General (Retd.) Tarique Ahmed Siddique, Defence and Security Advisor to the Prime Minister of Bangladesh; Sonam Topgay, Secretary in the Ministry of Home and Cultural Affairs of Bhutan; Thaung Tun, National Security Advisor of Myanmar; Singha Bahadur Shrestha, Inspector General of Armed Police Force of Nepal; Brig. M.D.U.V Gunatilake, Director of Military Intelligence of Sri Lanka; Vera Urairat, Deputy Secretary General of the National Security Council of Thailand; and Sumith Nakandala, Secretary General of Bimstec.

According to the External Affairs Ministry statement, the Bimstec member-states were also invited for a Conference on Counter Radicalisation to be hosted by India.

"Noting with concern the emerging trends in cyber space that have security implications, the meeting decided to deepen cooperation among the respective cyber institutions through a joint forum on cyber security," it stated.

"The meeting emphasised the importance of maritime security in view of the significance of the Bay of Bengal for the well-being, prosperity, security and socio-economic development in the Bimstec member-states and decided to examine ways to further strengthen maritime security cooperation, including humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR)."

The participants also discussed ways and means of harnessing emerging space technologies for addressing security challenges.

They reviewed the progress made in the Bimstec Joint Working Group on Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crimes and its sub-groups, and decided that Bimstec National Security Chiefs or Advisors will oversee implementation of their work.

"The meeting decided to establish a Track 1.5 Bimstec Security Dialogue Forum to promote and encourage security dialogue among Bimstec strategic community," the statement said.

"In view of the inter-linkages between the Himalayan and the Bay of Bengal ecological systems, the meeting considered setting up of a Bimstec Himalayan Science Council to bring together scientific institutions to study the health of the ecological systems and their impact on human security," the MEA statement said.

India also made an offer of 100 scholarships towards capacity building in security-related sectors.

--IANS

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