Bangladesh-Myanmar Relations: The Security Dimension
Myanmar is the only other neighbour that we have on our border besides India. But, the relations between these two neighbours have at times not been as friendly as expected due to the presence of some unresolved issues like Rohingya refugees and the maritime boundary demarcation. The most recent stand-off took place in November, 2008, when four Korean ships guarded by Myanmar’s navy started exploration for oil and gas reserves within 50 nautical miles South-west of St. Martin Island,in Bangladesh water. However, compared to Myanmar’s military strength,Bangladesh is lagging far behind.Based on such realities, Bangladesh has to make up its mind sooner how it wishes to pursue its geopolitical goals to ensure optimum gains for the sake of national security.
The Himalayan Challenge Water Security in Emerging Asia
The Himalayan River Basins in China, Nepal, India and Bangladesh are home to about 1.3 billion people – i.e. ||almost 20% of the world’s population and almost 50% of the total population of these countries. Water availability on per capita cubic metre basis is estimated to decline from 2150 at present to 1860 in 2030 ||in case of China, from 1730 to 1240 in case of India, from 7320 to 5700 in case of Bangladesh, from 8500 to 5500 in case of Nepal.