The arrival of a top American general from the US Pacific Command in Dhaka on March 24 and his meetings with senior Bangladeshi Army officers is aimed at solidifying defensive measures along Bangladesh’s borders with Myanmar’s Rakhine State, where military moves against the military junta are expected to begin soon.
Lieutenant General Joel ‘JB’ Vowell, Deputy Commanding General for US Army Pacific (USARPAC)—located at Fort Shafter, Hawaii—will land at Dhaka’s Hazrat Shah Jalal International Airport around 10 p.m. tomorrow.
He will be leading a four-member team of other USARPAC officers. The team will return to Hawaii on March 25.
Lt Gen Vowell has been on three combat tours in Afghanistan and two in Iraq, including both surge campaigns.
Today, a three-member team of US officials led by Dhaka-based US Embassy’s Military Attache Lt Col Michael E De Michiei, Lt Col Hunter Gallacher (from the Office of Defense Cooperation) and Major Ian Leonard met Bangladesh Army’s Director General of Operations Brigadier General Mohammad Alimul Amin at the Armed Forces Division under Chief Advisor Mohammad Yunus’s office.
Bangladesh strategic affairs analysts said that Lt Gen Vowell’s visit is “critical” considering that the Arakan Army might be planning to launch a major military offensive to capture three remaining towns in the Rakhine State – Sittwe, Kyaukphyu and Manaung – where the military continues to hold out.
Unconfirmed reports suggest that the Arakan Army is being backed by a strong covert auxiliary force.
“Any fighting in the Rakhine State will likely impact Bangladesh. Besides, the Arakan Army will need supply lines open, which can be ensured to some extent by Bangladesh Army units deployed close to the Myanmar-Bangladesh border.
It could be that the American military officers seek to take an overview of what kind of assistance the Bangladesh Army units can provide,” a Dhaka-based geopolitical analyst said.
The military developments in the Rakhine State are in many ways linked to the Rohingya issue in which three key elements – a no-fly zone, a safe corridor and the ‘right to protect’ – have figured prominently in negotiations over the Rohingya refugees.
Sources in Bangladesh’s security establishment disclosed that Dhaka was favourably inclined towards the establishment of a ‘safe zone’ for the Rohingya.
After the fall of Maungdaw in December 2024, the Arakan Army crossed the Naf River and entered Bangladeshi territory for two days before returning to their bases in the Rakhine State.
At that time Arakan Army representatives and Bangladesh Army officers had engaged briefly even as supplies continued from Bangladesh continued to go into the Rakhine State.
Sittwe is a key military objective for the Arakan Army. At the same time, it is of vital importance from the Indian perspective.
The development of Sittwe port is part of the Kaladan Multimodal Transit Transport Project (KMTTP).
It was developed under a framework agreement between India and Myanmar for the construction and operation of a Multimodal Transit Transport Facility on the Kaladan River connecting Sittwe port with Mizoram in India.
Once operationalised, Sittwe Port will enable multi-modal transit connectivity with Southeast Asia.
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Sittwe port also connects to Paletwa in Myanmar’s Chin State through an inland waterway and from Paletwa to Zorinpui in Mizoram through a road component. Paletwa is now under the control of the Arakan Army.
Goods from Kolkata to Sittwe can be shipped to Teknaf port in Bangladesh, which is just 60 nautical miles from the former.
From Teknaf, goods can be transported by road to Sabroom which is 300 km away. Sabroom has an integrated customs border between Bangladesh and Tripura.
Sittwe Port and the Kaladan project were aimed at benefiting Tripura by way of a significant reduction in transportation time and logistics costs.
