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Bangladesh Navy

US Naval base in BD will checkmate both PLAN and IN in Bay of Bengal. China backs Myanmar as it provides an outlet to Bay of Bengal.
US economic and military aid would flow to BD if it agreed to host the USN.

No need... sorry. It comes with a lot of baggages.
 
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Reported in the media though
Reported in the media though

I read them at the time too. I believe it’s a hearsay.

I do not think BD will realistically entertain any foreign presence. We will balance US and China starategically.

In terms of US with their base in Qatar, Diego Garcia, kewait, Oman, uae Djibouti and japan they have full operational maritime coverage over in the region.
 
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BoB is too shallow for carrier fleet. The then us ambassador asked whether their ships going to crawl to Chittagong. And he was correct after too much gossip.

With all due respect I beg to differ. The Nimitz and Gerald Ford class Carriers per Wiki have around 12m draft requirement (limit).

According to this article below, the draft at Matarbari is sufficient for berthing 350 meters long and 16 meters draft vessels carrying 8000 TEUs vessels (such as the famous Sovereign Maersk Class container carrier vessels which is a Post Panamax class per draft restriction - photo below to get some idea about size). I knew this already, but the CPA chairman said it in the article.

Chittagong I don't believe was the proposed location - I believe Sonadia/Matarbari may have been.

So, Mr. Ambassador of the US was ill-informed...and this is well within the realm of possibility.

But the main problem is political. China is a friend and a military supplier of Bangladesh ( which is a client state). Placing an American naval base and also airbase (carriers) so close to China borders will surely anger China, and Bangladesh won't take the responsibility. It is not worth it to us.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nimitz-class_aircraft_carrier

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerald_R._Ford-class_aircraft_carrier

http://thedailynewnation.com/news/171695/matarbari-deep-seaport-to-operate-from-2023.html/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sovereign_Maersk

Maersk_container_ship_002.JPG
 
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I read them at the time too. I believe it’s a hearsay.

I do not think BD will realistically entertain any foreign presence. We will balance US and China starategically.

In terms of US with their base in Qatar, Diego Garcia, kewait, Oman, uae Djibouti and japan they have full operational maritime coverage over in the region.
Fun fact. There are three foreign military base now in Kuwait... one US, one UK and one Bangladesh

US have two separate camps...
 
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I read them at the time too. I believe it’s a hearsay.

I do not think BD will realistically entertain any foreign presence. We will balance US and China starategically.

In terms of US with their base in Qatar, Diego Garcia, kewait, Oman, uae Djibouti and japan they have full operational maritime coverage over in the region.

Yes, BD will not allow foreign bases as it wants to balance West and China.

I disagree that a base in BD is not required as Diego Garcia is actually south of the equator and is around 3000km from the Chinese port in Myanmar - this is 3 days sailing.
A base in BD would allow US to have a CBG based in the heart in-between China and India, and if they were to also have an airbase as well then they could really have an upper hand in the region - put India rightfully in their place and pressure Myanmar to toe the US line.
 
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Yes, BD will not allow foreign bases as it wants to balance West and China.

I disagree that a base in BD is not required as Diego Garcia is actually south of the equator and is around 3000km from the Chinese port in Myanmar - this is 3 days sailing.
A base in BD would allow US to have a CBG based in the heart in-between China and India, and if they were to also have an airbase as well then they could really have an upper hand in the region - put India rightfully in their place and pressure Myanmar to toe the US line.


Yes, in that scenario I guess.

But India is in US camp,they do not need to pressure India. And A base for a CBG to pressure the monkeys is a bit of an overkill
 
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Yes, in that scenario I guess.

But India is in US camp,they do not need to pressure India. And A base for a CBG to pressure the monkeys is a bit of an overkill

India is in no-ones camp. They are using China card for their own benefit and US does not trust them.
If there was a US base in BD, the savages would not have dared drive the Rohingyas away.
 
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India is in no-ones camp. They are using China card for their own benefit and US does not trust them.
If there was a US base in BD, the savages would not have dared drive the Rohingyas away.


You maybe correct in that assessment.

However my assessment is that a foreign military base in BD is a threat to BD so would not personally recommend it. We must develop our capabilities to deal with the monkeys ourselves.

A US base given the disparity of powers between US and us would be a threat to our strategic independence.

Imagine a scenario of a India and China conflict ( I admit this is unlikely), what if US takes a position to support one of the parties wholesale ( unlikely but let’s assume) BD suddenly would be forced to back whoever US backs. Suddenly we are backed into a position that does not serve our long term interest. Like it or not we can not change our geography and China and India are facts of life and we need to manage them by keeping certain distance from their power struggle.

I feel we should take a view that the future is unpredictable. We can not align ourselves to anyone. In some ways this hampers our position as well.... but operational and strategic independence can not be overstated. We should not invite a large power that we can not control, that’s my two cent I guess. Better be self reliant in the long term than depend on anyone.
 
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You maybe correct in that assessment.

However my assessment is that a foreign military base in BD is a threat to BD so would not personally recommend it. We must develop our capabilities to deal with the monkeys ourselves.

A US base given the disparity of powers between US and us would be a threat to our strategic independence.

Imagine a scenario of a India and China conflict ( I admit this is unlikely), what if US takes a position to support one of the parties wholesale ( unlikely but let’s assume) BD suddenly would be forced to back whoever US backs. Suddenly we are backed into a position that does not serve our long term interest. Like it or not we can not change our geography and China and India are facts of life and we need to manage them by keeping certain distance from their power struggle.

I feel we should take a view that the future is unpredictable. We can not align ourselves to anyone. In some ways this hampers our position as well.... but operational and strategic independence can not be overstated. We should not invite a large power that we can not control, that’s my two cent I guess. Better be self reliant in the long term than depend on anyone.

Yep, and that is why BD will never give a base to anyone.
It is not just a case of US being far more powerful than BD but more to
do with BD being an independent minded nation.
UK was so scared of Bengali nationalism that it did not recruit Bengalis into
the British Indian army and Pakistan found out about our nationalism in 1971.
A country that will near 200 million population by 2040 is more than capable of being
an independent power in it's own right.
 
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In terms of US with their base in Qatar, Diego Garcia, kewait, Oman, uae Djibouti and japan they have full operational maritime coverage over in the region.
You are right. US base in Diego Garcia far south of SL can watch over the entire sea routes across the Arabian Sea, Indian Ocean and BoB. So, I do not think the US really needs a base in the cyclone-prone BD shore. Diego Garcia is a UK overseas territory which has been leased to the US. So, US will not face any Islamic terrorism that it may face in BD.
 
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You are right. US base in Diego Garcia far south of SL can watch over the entire sea routes across the Arabian Sea, Indian Ocean and BoB. So, I do not think the US really needs a base in the cyclone-prone BD shore. Diego Garcia is a UK overseas territory which has been leased to the US. So, US will not face any Islamic terrorism that it may face in BD.


Umm ok...
 
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