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| Turkish foreign minister Mevlut savaslu and Bangladeshi foreign minister AK Abdul momen In a press conference |
There were many speculations about the visit of Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut chabushwlur to Dhaka. Neither Dhaka nor Ankara has said much about the agenda of the visit. Many thought that, like the ten diplomatic visits, some bilateral and trade issues as well as friendly exchanges would be discussed. Much of it will be about Muslim brotherhood. The Turkish government may reiterate its position on the Rohingya crisis.
But while briefing journalists in Dhaka on Wednesday afternoon, Chavushoolu surprised everyone. He said without hesitation that Turkey wants to sell its weapons to Bangladesh and is interested in working together to produce weapons and military equipment in Bangladesh.
Many were not ready for such an offer from Turkey. Perhaps there was a lot of secrecy in the diplomatic circles of the two countries. But Turkey's offer to sell arms to others is totally unexpected. Some of these issues will be discussed, if some people found out, Chavushoulu's visit could have been canceled like the Chinese Defense Minister's visit. Turkey wants to make its mark in South Asia. It has been selling arms to Pakistan for a long time. It has also recently started selling in Afghanistan. Now he also wants to make Bangladesh a customer of arms.
The price of Turkish arms is lower than in the United States and Western European countries. Basically Eastern European countries supply arms at low prices. China also trades in low-cost arms. Turkey did not have much of a reputation as an arms dealer. But by selling cheap weapons in the world market, Turkey wants to hunt many birds in one go.
The first is to export arms to middle-income countries at low prices and try to give at least some life to one's own economy. Looking for more new markets for weapons. In the face of the economic downturn and the Corona crisis, Turkey's exports of military industry, along with other industries, fell 26.1 percent in January-August this year compared to the same period last year. Turkey's military industry has advanced a lot over the past decade using its own technology. It has set an ambitious target of 26.9 billion in revenue from the military by 2023.
In 2016, Turkey earned 67.8 billion from the military. The country produces 75 percent of its military equipment. It wants to do 75 percent by 2023. Thus, Turkey is becoming an arms importer and exporter. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan are major buyers of Turkish military equipment.
Turkey is producing drones, rocket launchers, short-range missiles, armored vehicles, helicopters and tanks. Their T-129 helicopter can carry a total of eight anti-tank missiles, 12 controlled launch rockets and 500 rounds of automatic gunfire. This helicopter is capable of conducting operations at very high altitudes from the ground in the dark of night or in the light of day in adverse conditions of extreme heat and cold. The T-155 Firtina missile can hit a target at a distance of 40 km in 30 seconds.
Recently, Turkish weapons have been used extensively in the wars in Syria and Nagorno-Karabakh. Turkey has been successful in the Syrian war using its own weapons against the Kurds in Operation Olive Branch. In the Battle of Nagarano Karabakh, Azerbaijan defeated French-backed Armenia using Turkish-supplied drones.
Turkey's arms deal with Bangladesh is still under negotiation. Turkey seeks to sell military drones, rocket launchers, missiles, helicopters, armored vehicles, warships and tanks. But the question is, will Bangladesh finally be able to buy military equipment from Turkey? It's not just about buying and selling weapons. It involves regional and global politics. In this case two things will be considered.One is the reaction of neighboring and larger powers. It will not be easy for Bangladesh to buy arms from Turkey by bypassing India and the United States. Obstacles may come from those two countries. For example, Pakistan signed an agreement with Turkey in 2016 to buy 30 Turkish T-129 attack helicopters for 1.5 billion. But the United States has banned Turkey from selling helicopters. Because, the engine used in this helicopter is made in USA; Turkey will not be able to sell these engine-powered helicopters to third parties without US permission. Now Turkey is trying to build the engine itself. Pakistan itself has tried to persuade the United States. The helicopters were to be handed over in 2020. But in the situation that has arisen, the transfer deadline has been extended to 2021.
The way the United States has stopped Pakistan from buying Turkish weapons, the same could happen to Bangladesh. In addition, the United States and India would like Bangladesh to join the Indo-Pacific Alliance. In particular, India does not want Turkey to help its two neighbors, Pakistan and Bangladesh, become stronger militarily. The complex issues of geopolitics and security will be considered by all parties here. Turkey's presence in the Indian Ocean region in the name of arms sales or production in Bangladesh will not be pleasant for India and the United States either. Russia and China will benefit if Turkey's presence in the region increases. Like Syria, the Indian Ocean region could be snatched from the hands of India and the United States by China, Russia, Pakistan and Turkey.
The second issue is how much Bangladesh can bargain with Turkey. Various issues are being discussed during Chavushoolu's visit. Turkey has offered to increase bilateral trade to 200 million. Bangladesh has proposed investment in construction projects and health sector. There are proposals to unveil busts of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Kamal Ataturk. The extent to which these proposals will be implemented will largely depend on the progress of the arms procurement talks. The main purpose of Chavushoolu's visit was to sell arms; The rest is just an occasion.
Turkey has been trying to establish himself as leader of the Muslim world for a while. As a part of this plan, they will want to join the Muslim countries to join themselves. The easy way to enl enl be dependent on the military and economic sector. Turkey moves forward with that plan. In the Muslim world, there are three sections of Saudi Arabia, Iran and Turkey. Although Iran and Turkey is in the same axis on the issue of Saudi Arabia, both countries want to lead himself led. Therefore, Bangladesh may also come to Bangladesh on Saudi Arabia and Iran. But there may not be a lot of response from China. In the end, the agreement of sale of turkey arms with Bangladesh or not, in the next few days, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and United States diplomats will be busy. Details of the chandelier proposal can start at the time of this time. Therefore, Bangladesh must take care of the accounts. On the one hand, military capacity should be increased, on the other hand, their political position should be strengthened. Only diplomatic skills will be proved.
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