Bangladesh Defense Forum 
China's submarine gift to Myanmar has a purpose
Mohammad Abdur Razzak
Published: 28 Dec 2021, 13: 30
China sold two submarines to Bangladesh but gifted a boat to Myanmar. Indian naval leadership was perturbed at Chinese boats coming to Bangladesh water but happily sold a Kilo Class submarine to Myanmar
China has gifted Type 035G Ming Class submarine to Myanmar. The submarine was commissioned on 24 December 2021 along with a couple of other ships. A year earlier, India delivered a Kilo Class submarine to Myanmar Navy at an undisclosed price. In 2017, China delivered two Ming Class submarines to Bangladesh at a cost of USD 213 million. Myanmar, getting two submarines from India and China in a span of one year, exposes Myanmar's strategic importance to the two rival powers and Myanmar's cozy position to exploit their competition in courting it.
The media also reported that Myanmar is building two new submarines in Russia which are likely to join the navy in 2025. I mentioned in an article "The Kilo Impact", published in a national daily on 19 November 2020 that Myanmar is likely to have a fleet of three submarines by 2030. But, developing stories suggest that the Myanmar Navy is on fast track to complete a fleet of four submarines.
According to a WION piece, "Bangladesh is one of the top export markets of Chinese weapons. Between 2008 and 2018 China exported USD 1.93 billion worth of Chinese weapons to Bangladesh which was 72% of total military acquisition during that period. Myanmar is the third largest export market of Chinese weapons. Since 2013 Myanmar has imported USD 720 million worth of Chinese weapons."
China sold two submarines to Bangladesh but gifted a boat to Myanmar. Indian naval leadership was perturbed at Chinese boats coming to Bangladesh water but happily sold a Kilo Class submarine to Myanmar. India is pursuing to sell military hardware to Bangladesh under its USD 500 million credit line. It is not clear whether addition of large quantities Indian origin weapon inventory alongside Chinese inventory will make it an inventory balancing the two rival powers. One point appears quite clear that both China and India view Bangladesh as weapon export market, not a geostrategic partner or neighbor. Facts and figures reveal Indian and Chinese preferences for Myanmar over Bangladesh in their tactical and strategic play.
Myanmar Navy has been on the quick march with its expansion programme since 2000. Till late 1990s, Myanmar Navy was a riverine force with the principal role of transporting logistics in support of Army in counter insurgency operation. China gave massive impetus to the expansion programme which incidentally coincided with PLAN's own massive expansion program after the third Taiwan Strait crisis in 1996.
Myanmar navy's expansion program was rolled out with Chinese funded 1.2 billion dollar Naval Shipyard project in 1999. China also provided technology support in building the shipyard and subsequent indigenous war ship construction programmes. China is reportedly investing over USD 200 million to build a 400x120 meter dry dock having 10 meter basin depth. The dry dock is being built on 60 acres land beside the shipyard.
The dry dock will have the capacity to dock vessels of 20,000 DWT. It will be able to undertake the construction or repair four frigates simultaneously. Projected capacity of the dry dock seems to be far greater than Myanmar Navy's requirements. Maximum war ship building capacity of the shipyard is 4,000 ton (135 meter long) ship. One 400 ton frigate (135 meter) is under construction in the shipyard. The frigate will have sixteen cells Vertical Launch Systems SAM besides advanced surface and sub surface weapon systems. Myanmar Navy has plan to build six such ships by 2035. The first ship is likely to enter service in 2025. Myanmar's naval programmes are much larger compared to its geo-maritime reality.
Myanmar has three maritime neighbours-Bangladesh, India and Thailand. All three neighbors have delimited their respective maritime boundary with Myanmar. Myanmar also has land borders with all three neighbors and there is no dispute over land borders. It is contemplated that none of the neighbors are likely to pull Myanmar into armed an conflict although Myanmar attempted to pull Bangladesh into a conflict while it was perpetrating genocidal crimes against Rohingyas in 2017. Anyway, Bangladesh does maintain good relation with Myanmar despite the burden of 1.1 million Rohingyas inflicted by Myanmar and pursuing their peaceful and dignified repatriation. Given the context, there is little scope of an armed conflict between Myanmar and its maritime neighbours. Then why has Myanmar embarked on massive naval development programme? Catalyst to the naval programme seems to be China factor.
China confronts powerful competitors from the Pacific and the Indian Ocean region as Chinese economic and military outreach widens beyond the South China Sea region. India's geophysical location offers huge challenge to Chinese shipping passing over the Indian Ocean and the narrow waters of the Andaman Sea, the Malacca Strait, six degree channel and adjoining waters. To keep the 'sea lines of national logistics' moving and reduce dependence on narrow waters under Indian naval influence, China has opened China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC) to access the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean.
China-Myanmar political and military engagements seem to be shaping up into a kind of military alliance. China seems to be readying a naval proxy in the Bay of Bengal for potential naval engagements in the event of wider conflict occurring at an uncertain point in time. Last but not the least, employment of 'proxy naval diplomacy' cannot be ignored to control geopolitical deviations occurring on the Bay of Bengal.
* Mohammad Abdur Razzak is a security analyst and a retired Commodore of Bangladesh Navy.
Mohammad Abdur Razzak
Published: 28 Dec 2021, 13: 30
China sold two submarines to Bangladesh but gifted a boat to Myanmar. Indian naval leadership was perturbed at Chinese boats coming to Bangladesh water but happily sold a Kilo Class submarine to Myanmar
China has gifted Type 035G Ming Class submarine to Myanmar. The submarine was commissioned on 24 December 2021 along with a couple of other ships. A year earlier, India delivered a Kilo Class submarine to Myanmar Navy at an undisclosed price. In 2017, China delivered two Ming Class submarines to Bangladesh at a cost of USD 213 million. Myanmar, getting two submarines from India and China in a span of one year, exposes Myanmar's strategic importance to the two rival powers and Myanmar's cozy position to exploit their competition in courting it.
The media also reported that Myanmar is building two new submarines in Russia which are likely to join the navy in 2025. I mentioned in an article "The Kilo Impact", published in a national daily on 19 November 2020 that Myanmar is likely to have a fleet of three submarines by 2030. But, developing stories suggest that the Myanmar Navy is on fast track to complete a fleet of four submarines.
According to a WION piece, "Bangladesh is one of the top export markets of Chinese weapons. Between 2008 and 2018 China exported USD 1.93 billion worth of Chinese weapons to Bangladesh which was 72% of total military acquisition during that period. Myanmar is the third largest export market of Chinese weapons. Since 2013 Myanmar has imported USD 720 million worth of Chinese weapons."
China sold two submarines to Bangladesh but gifted a boat to Myanmar. Indian naval leadership was perturbed at Chinese boats coming to Bangladesh water but happily sold a Kilo Class submarine to Myanmar. India is pursuing to sell military hardware to Bangladesh under its USD 500 million credit line. It is not clear whether addition of large quantities Indian origin weapon inventory alongside Chinese inventory will make it an inventory balancing the two rival powers. One point appears quite clear that both China and India view Bangladesh as weapon export market, not a geostrategic partner or neighbor. Facts and figures reveal Indian and Chinese preferences for Myanmar over Bangladesh in their tactical and strategic play.
Myanmar Navy has been on the quick march with its expansion programme since 2000. Till late 1990s, Myanmar Navy was a riverine force with the principal role of transporting logistics in support of Army in counter insurgency operation. China gave massive impetus to the expansion programme which incidentally coincided with PLAN's own massive expansion program after the third Taiwan Strait crisis in 1996.
Myanmar navy's expansion program was rolled out with Chinese funded 1.2 billion dollar Naval Shipyard project in 1999. China also provided technology support in building the shipyard and subsequent indigenous war ship construction programmes. China is reportedly investing over USD 200 million to build a 400x120 meter dry dock having 10 meter basin depth. The dry dock is being built on 60 acres land beside the shipyard.
The dry dock will have the capacity to dock vessels of 20,000 DWT. It will be able to undertake the construction or repair four frigates simultaneously. Projected capacity of the dry dock seems to be far greater than Myanmar Navy's requirements. Maximum war ship building capacity of the shipyard is 4,000 ton (135 meter long) ship. One 400 ton frigate (135 meter) is under construction in the shipyard. The frigate will have sixteen cells Vertical Launch Systems SAM besides advanced surface and sub surface weapon systems. Myanmar Navy has plan to build six such ships by 2035. The first ship is likely to enter service in 2025. Myanmar's naval programmes are much larger compared to its geo-maritime reality.
Myanmar has three maritime neighbours-Bangladesh, India and Thailand. All three neighbors have delimited their respective maritime boundary with Myanmar. Myanmar also has land borders with all three neighbors and there is no dispute over land borders. It is contemplated that none of the neighbors are likely to pull Myanmar into armed an conflict although Myanmar attempted to pull Bangladesh into a conflict while it was perpetrating genocidal crimes against Rohingyas in 2017. Anyway, Bangladesh does maintain good relation with Myanmar despite the burden of 1.1 million Rohingyas inflicted by Myanmar and pursuing their peaceful and dignified repatriation. Given the context, there is little scope of an armed conflict between Myanmar and its maritime neighbours. Then why has Myanmar embarked on massive naval development programme? Catalyst to the naval programme seems to be China factor.
China confronts powerful competitors from the Pacific and the Indian Ocean region as Chinese economic and military outreach widens beyond the South China Sea region. India's geophysical location offers huge challenge to Chinese shipping passing over the Indian Ocean and the narrow waters of the Andaman Sea, the Malacca Strait, six degree channel and adjoining waters. To keep the 'sea lines of national logistics' moving and reduce dependence on narrow waters under Indian naval influence, China has opened China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC) to access the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean.
China-Myanmar political and military engagements seem to be shaping up into a kind of military alliance. China seems to be readying a naval proxy in the Bay of Bengal for potential naval engagements in the event of wider conflict occurring at an uncertain point in time. Last but not the least, employment of 'proxy naval diplomacy' cannot be ignored to control geopolitical deviations occurring on the Bay of Bengal.
* Mohammad Abdur Razzak is a security analyst and a retired Commodore of Bangladesh Navy.
