The most recent “flag meeting” was contentious, with the Burmese side accusing Bangladesh of supporting armed militant groups that Naypyidaw says have attacked Burmese border police camps twice this month.

Speaking at the seminar, Foreign Secretary Haque suggested that Burma and Bangladesh should hold official, high-level “security dialogues” instead of “flag meetings,” which are more informal and typically involve only local-level border security officers. Haque said Bangladesh’s proposed “security dialogue” would focus on “security issues which [are] hurting the relationship, including irregular movement of people in [the border] area”.

Secretary Haque added that “Once we have security dialogue, we would have [closer and more] intense discussion between the two bordering forces,” indicating that such a dialogue mechanism would enable Bangladesh and Myanmar to break the ice in their relations and narrow the decades-old “trust deficit” between the two countries.
 
Haque was optimistic about the prospects for Burma-Bangladesh relations going forward given the recent progress that has already occurred, citing the example of Bangladesh’s recent good-will gesture where Dhaka—for a the first time—allowed a Burmese ship to pass through Bangladeshi waters in order to enter the Naaf River which divides the two countries.

Previously, Bangladesh didn’t allow Burmese ships to enter the Naaf River at all, and Secretary Haque said Dhaka’s decision to open up its waters to Burmese ships illustrates how “Bangladesh is making all kinds of gestures that are positive. The frigate stayed in Myanmar water [upstream on the Naaf River] bordering Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar district...for a month and went back.” The secretary then said he expected Burma to reciprocate Bangladesh’s recent good-will gesture: “We would like to see next time when we make an offer we get similar reciprocity that will show strength between the two countries.”

Foreign Secretary Haque also called on Myanmar to consider Bangladesh’s proposal to commence official security dialogues: “Let’s have a security dialogue, let’s call security as security, not cover it under trade and diplomatic relations.”

During the BIISS seminar, Haque admitted that ties between Bangladesh and Myanmar haven’t developed smoothly despite their geographic proximity and shared economic interests. Nevertheless, Secretary Haque emphasized that relations between Burma and Bangladesh have improved dramatically since 2011, when Bangladesh’s Prime Minister was one of many high-level foreign officials to visit Myanmar.

The secretary also said that since 2011, bilateral exchanges between Burma and Bangladesh have accelerated, and that both sides displayed greater flexibility at last year’s bilateral “Foreign Secretary Consultation.” In addition, Haque said there have been regular consultations at both the national and local levels recently, including meetings between officials involved in border security and management. Burma and Bangladesh are also committed to strengthening their cooperating in multilateral and regional forums such as BCIM and BIMSTEC, according to Haque.

Another participant at the forum was Ms. Saida Tasnim, Director General of the UN Desk at Bangladesh’s Foreign Office. She noted that Bangladesh always stood by Myanmar at the UN prior to 2011 when Myanmar was isolated and subject to Western sanctions. Ms. Tasnim then added that in return for Bangladesh’s support at the UN Myanmar reciprocated by previously cooperating to some extent on Rohingya refugee issues. Finally, Ms. Tasnim expressed hope that mutual accommodation, pragmatism, and the spirit of humanity shared by both countries will hasten the resolution of communal, religious, and ethnic-based conflicts in the region.

A delegation from the Myanmar Institute of Strategic and International Studies (MISIS) also participated in last week’s “Enhancing Bangladesh-Myanmar Relations” seminar. The head of the MISIS delegation, Ambassador U Wynn Lwin, mentioned that Myanmar and Bangladesh are very good friends and that Myanmar was one of the first countries to recognize Bangladesh after it declared independence from Pakistan in 1971.

U Wynn Lwin also noted that in previous years the two countries have been able to settle many bilateral disputes, including the demarcation of their contested border, thanks in part to Myanmar’s gracious acceptance of an international judicial verdict on the maritime border that ruled in favor of Bangladesh.

In addition, Ambassador U Wynn Lwin said the two countries previously worked together on many regional and international forums such as BIMSTEC. People attending the forum generally echoed the ambassador’s sentiment, with many participants saying that it’s “strategically imperative” for Bangladesh and Myanmar to develop closer ties and craft a more “united” approach to foreign affairs—particularly with regard to the Bay of Bengal—given today’s dynamic global economy and geopolitical environment.

Of course, the primary sticking point remaining between the two countries is the repatriation of Rohingya refugees who have fled from Rakhine State, as Burma currently doesn’t recognize the Rohingya as Burmese citizens. Apparently, Bangladesh’s new strategy is to facilitate the repatriation of Rohingya refugees to Burma through its proposed “security dialogue” mechanism.

However, bilateral relations have been clouded by Naypyidaw’s belief that Bangladesh is harboring and supporting militant Rohingya groups which Burmese officials have accused of attacking Burmese Border Guard Police (BGP) camps twice this month, killing four police officers, according to a border watchdog from the Bangladesh town of Teknaf named Hasson.

“It may be the plan of Burmese authorities to show the international community that the area is not safe to [complete the census process] which the Rohingya community refused to join [because they haven’t been allowed to identify themselves as Rohingya]” said Hasson.

Locals on the Bangladesh side of the border and a BGB officer interviewed by Kaladan Press (both of whom declined to be named) said they didn’t hear any gunshots and speculated the incident was fabricated by militant Rakhine nationalists. In reality, they said the group of attackers actually consisted of ethnic Rakhines disguised as members of the Rohingya Solidarity Organization (RSO)—a militant group seeking Burmese citizenship for Rohingya that has ties with militant Islamic organizations in other countries.

Locals on the Bangladesh side of the border and a Rohingya from the Burmese town of Maungdaw interviewed by Kaladan Press all concluded that the group either consisted of militant Rakhine nationalists acting on their own (referred to as “Mogh”) or official members of the Arakan Liberation Party (ALP)—an armed group that wants to expel all Rohingya from Burma—disguised as RSO members.

There was also a consensus opinion among these interviewees that the purpose of the alleged attack was to attract more Rakhine nationalists to take up arms against the Rohingya—particularly the “Arakan Army,” an armed Rakhine group that is currently fighting alongside the KIA against the Burmese army in Kachin State. The interviewees also told Kaladan Press that they believe the alleged attacks were designed to encourage Naypyidaw to beef up Burma’s security forces in the region and adopt an even more hard-line approach towards the Rohingya.

In the wake of the incident, Burmese media outlets reported that unknown troops had entered Burma from Bangladesh and killed four BGP officers. Among the five alleged attackers, one died and four were arrested by the BGP and taken to Rakhine State’s Maungdaw General Hospital for treatment, according to a Rohingya from Maungdaw interviewed by Kaladan Press.

The BGB officer and Bangladeshi locals interviewed by Kaladan Press also said that details of last week’s “flag meeting” were reported in Burmese media outlets, while Bangladeshi media organizations focused on the lack of evidence relating to the alleged attacks and quoted Bangladeshi officials who denied that Bangladesh provides any shelter or support to the RSO or other armed groups.