Dhaka seeks British help for border management, maritime security

October 7th, 2009 DHAKA - Bangladesh has cancelled leave of its border guards and stepped up army deployment on its border with Myanmar, alleging large-scale intrusion and to protest against the eastern neighbour erecting a border fence. Tension mounted along the Naikhyangchhari border in Bandarban after Myanmar resumed border fencing Friday.

September 10th, 2009 DHAKA - Bangladesh has sent a diplomatic note to the UN against Myanmar's maritime boundary claim on the extended continental shelf in the Bay of Bengal and will soon register its protest against India's claim there. Sandwiched between the two neighbours, Dhaka will send its own claims only by July 2011, a minister told parliament Thursday.

August 19th, 2009 DHAKA/NEW DELHI - Bangladesh Foreign Minister Dipu Moni will undertake her maiden official visit to India on September 8 and is expected to discuss several bilateral issues, including border security, water and maritime boundary issues. Foreign ministry officials, however, said the details of the visit are yet to be finalised.

June 25th, 2009 DHAKA - Bangladesh is set to protest to the UN against Myanmar's claim to the territorial sea in the Bay of Bengal, where maritime boundaries have caused disputes and led to stand-offs. Foreign ministry officials told New Age newspaper Wednesday that Dhaka may send in its protest even before the next round of technical discussions with Yangon in mid-July.

June 6th, 2009 DHAKA - Eleven Bangladeshi fishermen have allegedly been hurt in firing by Nasaka, the border security force of Myanmar, in a trans-border clash in the Bay of Bengal's upper reaches, media reports said here Saturday. Dhaka claims that its fishermen were forcibly prevented by Nasaka personnel from fishing in the estuary region around St.

May 19th, 2009 DHAKA - Over 2,500 border guard personnel have been arrested in connection with the Feb 26 mutiny by Bangladesh Rifles (BDR), Commerce Minister Faruk Khan said Tuesday. Khan, who was tasked with the inquiry into the incident, said: 'At least 1,398 members of the BDR have been arrested in Dhaka, while 1,581 more were held in 29 other districts.' Khan said 585 accused have confessed to their involvements in the mutiny.

March 29th, 2009 DHAKA - Bangladesh's new paramilitary border force chief is scheduled to arrive in New Delhi Monday on a three-day trip to India to discuss border issues between the two neighbouring countries, a foreign ministry official said here Sunday. Mainul Islam, who was appointed as Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) chief following the killing of Major General Shakil Ahmed during a mutiny last month, will meet India's Border Security Force (BSF) head M.L.

March 23rd, 2009 DHAKA - India may get a 'thank you' note from Bangladesh for ensuring normalcy on the border when troopers of the latter's border guards revolted last month, a media report said Monday. This could happen when the chiefs of the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) and India's Border Security Force (BSF) meet in New Delhi next Monday, New Age newspaper said quoting an unnamed senior BDR officer.

March 17th, 2009 DHAKA - Bangladesh says its eastern neighbour Myanmar is 'unilaterally' erecting a barbed wire fencing along its border and has mobilised troops and naval force. Tension runs high along the Bangladesh-Myanmar 200 km long border, The Daily Star said Tuesday quoting unnamed defence sources.

February 17th, 2009 DHAKA - Bangladesh wants to get down to the nitty gritty of demarcating its maritime boundary, first with India in mid-March and shortly thereafter with Myanmar, an official said. The technical discussions have been scheduled to be held in New Delhi, Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Touhid Hossain said Tuesday.

February 8th, 2009 DHAKA - The US has expressed its willingness to assist Bangladesh in maritime patrol and secure its unprotected territorial sea lanes, but has said that it has no plan to set up a military base. Richard Boucher, the US assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asia, Sunday clarified this point while winding up his two day visit here.

February 7th, 2009 DHAKA - The US plans to help Bangladesh protect mineral-rich waters it claims in the Bay of Bengal through maritime patrolling, a senior US official said Sunday. 'I think there is some interest in maritime patrols to protect your sea areas better.

January 15th, 2009 DHAKA - The new Bangladesh government wants to engage neighbours India and Myanmar to demarcate maritime boundaries in the Bay of Bengal to be able to file its claim before the United Nations by 2011, a media report said Friday. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who convened a meeting of energy ministry officials Thursday, said she would coordinate with the foreign office in contacting Delhi and Yangon, but did not indicate when.

December 26th, 2008 DHAKA - Bangladesh has said that it will lodge a formal complaint with India about three Indian oil and gas survey ships that allegedly crossed into its maritime boundary and continued working despite being told to leave. A press statement issued here Friday by the Bangladesh foreign ministry said an Indian survey vessel and its two support ships had initially moved towards Indian waters but were spotted inside Bangladesh waters Thursday afternoon.

December 25th, 2008 DHAKA - Bangladesh has deployed two war ships in the Bay of Bengal after a standoff with India over hydrocarbon exploration in the waters, according to a media report quoting a navy official. The row began as three survey vessels backed by the Indian Navy started exploration early Thursday, eight nautical miles inside what Dhaka claims is its maritime territory near the Fairway Buoy navigation channel around Block 14 in the southwest of the Bay.