{"id":120585,"date":"2021-11-23T18:14:51","date_gmt":"2021-11-24T01:14:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=120585"},"modified":"2021-11-23T18:14:51","modified_gmt":"2021-11-24T01:14:51","slug":"vietnam-could-benefit-from-resolving-the-rohingya-crisis-between-bangladesh-and-myanmar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2021\/11\/23\/vietnam-could-benefit-from-resolving-the-rohingya-crisis-between-bangladesh-and-myanmar\/","title":{"rendered":"Vietnam Could Benefit From Resolving The Rohingya Crisis Between Bangladesh and Myanmar"},"content":{"rendered":"

MD Pathik Hasan<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

Myanmar is one of Bangladesh\u2019s closest\nneighbors with historic connectivity going back centuries. The 271 km long\nBangladesh-Myanmar border is very important for Bangladesh due to its strategic\nposition, although at present the area is militarized due to its ongoing\ninternal conflicts. Were this to be resolved, Bangladesh could develop routes\nvia Myanmar to access China to the east, and other southeast Asian countries to\nthe south. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the other hands, Vietnam is very closed to\nBangladesh and Myanmar geographically. Thailand is a neighboring state of\nMyanmar. Vietnam can be able to access in South Asia through Bangladesh,\nMyanmar and Thailand. There is a huge potential of Vietnamese products in the\nregion. If Vietnam connects itself with Bangladesh-Myanmar-Thailand-India\nconnectivity project and Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar connectivity corridor, Vietnam\nwould benefit. A huge potential is waiting for Vietnam. If the two projects can\nbe implemented truly, Vietnam will be gainer in this regard. Bangladesh-Myanmar\nimproved ties is very needed in this regard. Vietnam is a very friendly country\nto both Myanmar and Bangladesh <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vietnam can also use Bangladesh, Myanmar,\nCambodia and Thailand as a transportation route to reach markets such as Nepal,\nBhutan, and India, Pakistan, Afghanistan. Both Bangladesh and Myanmar are\nmembers of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and\nEconomic Cooperation (BIMSTEC), an organization consisting of Bangladesh,\nBhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Thailand that seeks to foster\nregional and economic cooperation. Vietnam can and should join BIMSTEC to\nutilize the benefits. Being a hub between South East Asian and South Asian country,\nVietnam can use the routes to enter in the Bay of Bengal and Indian ocean\neasily through Myanmar and Bangladesh. Then it would be able to bolster its\ntrade ties with South Asia, Central Asia and Middle East Asia. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bangladesh is a Southeast Asian country and\ncan be used as an important hub to connect ASEAN and the South Asian\nAssociation for Regional Cooperation (SAARC<\/strong><\/a>).  <\/strong>members of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan,\nIndia, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka is difficult. Myanmar too, as\nan ASEAN member, can access the SAARC free-trade bloc through Bangladesh. Such\na way, Thailand would benefit economically to boost up their trade ties.\nVietnam will be able to ensure its maximum business interest. Vietnam can\naccess into the market of India, Nepal, Bhutan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka,\nAfghanistan and Central Asia easily through Bangladesh, Myanmar and Thailand.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Myanmar and Bangladesh have also resolved a\ndispute over their maritime borders through the International Court of Justice.\nAs a result, the rights of Bangladesh have been established in an area of\n1,11,000 square kilometers. Myanmar\u2019s waters have also been properly\nidentified. Bangladesh-Myanmar-Thailand-Vietnam has potential to invest in\nmaritime business in the Bay of Bengal. These countries should utilize and\nextract the maritime resource from the maritime zone. Blue economy can bring\nbenefit for Bangladesh-Myanmar-Vietnam also.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nproposed construction of the Asian Highway, funded by the Asian Development\nBank can increase land connectivity between the two countries and increase\ntrade in products such as fertilizers, plastics, cement, and furniture,\netc. Vietnam should and can join the project to ensure its maximum\nbusiness interest. Vietnamese entrepreneurs can utilize\nto ensure their business interest by investing in Bangladesh’s agriculture,\nfood processing, shipbuilding, electronics, leather, jute, light engineering\nand handicraft industries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Myanmar and Vietnam which at present does\nhave sophisticated manufacturing, can import electronics and pharmaceutical\nproducts that are readily produced from Bangladesh and benefit from the\ntechnology transfer. Bangladesh-Myanmar-Vietnam has potential of rice and fishery\nproduction. Trilateral effort is very needed here. Bangladeshi medicines,\nagricultural products garments, footwear and leather goods, knitwear,\npharmaceuticals, tableware, home textiles, textiles, seafood and marine\nproducts, tea, potatoes, jute and jute products, light engineering products,\nspices, cosmetics and ceramics, Toilets, etc. can be exported easily to Vietnam\nthrough Myanmar and Thailand. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Bangladeshi media outlets, Vietnam exported clothes, shoes, electronics, seafood, oil, rice\nand coffee to Bangladesh. the other hand, Bangladesh has exported Oven Garments\nand Knitwear, Plastic, Jute and Jute Good, Leather to Vietnam. Trade between\nthe two countries can be further enhanced by enhancing mutual cooperation,\nsending trade delegations and conducting joint research activities to explore\nnew business opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But\none of the major problems is the lack of adequate transport links for the\nexpansion of bilateral trade between the two countries. Both countries are\nworking to resolve this transportation issue and are in the process of joining\nthe Asian Highway Network, which is expected to address this issue. Bangladesh\nand Vietnam are longstanding friends and connected by the Bay of Bengal and\nmaritime routes, Bangladesh-Myanmar-Thailand-Vietnam should intensify\ncooperation in trade, investment and regional connectivity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According\nto Bangladeshi media outlets. Bangladesh-Myanmar-Vietnam trilateral relations\nmatters for ensuring great regional interest. Huge growth is possible in trilateral\ntrade amongst the three nations. \nBangladesh will able to create a dedicated economic zone for Vietnamese\ninvestors, and pledge to extend all-out support. Bangladesh, Myanmar and Vietnam\ncan Boost cooperation under the BIMSTEC framework. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

China is now the biggest investor in Myanmar.\nChina has invested over US$3 billion since the 2016-2017 fiscal year. One of\nthe most strategic components of these investments is the US$1.3 billion\nKyaukphyu deep seaport, which when completed, can provide China\u2019s Yunnan\nprovince a shortcut to the Indian Ocean. Thailand can extract some\nbenefits from the investments for its own gain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The country\u2019s biggest economic advantage for\nMyanmar is that they are a member of ASEAN. ASEAN controls about 24 percent of\ntotal world trade and its share in world trade is growing yearly. ASEAN\u2019s trade\nrelations with China, Japan, and South Korea are deepening due to the increase\nin trade and the upcoming RCEP agreement. ASEAN countries account for more than\n50 percent of total trade between themselves and these three countries. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bangladesh\nis keen to provide assistance to Myanmar. Covid-19 vaccine distribution and\ncounter-terrorism training are some areas for cooperation. The Rohingya refugee\nproblem has, however, created some tension between the two countries, and find\nthe solution can serve the longer-term interests of Bangladesh and Myanmar even\nVietnam also. Myanmar and Bangladesh should solve\nthis problem to serve its own and reginal interest. Myanmar should understand\nthat it is the issue of the region. Whole South Asia and South East Asia may be\nvolatile and unstable for this problem. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vietnam\ncan play a very significant role in this regard. Vietnam can mediate to bolster\nthe strained relations between Bangladesh-Myanmar. Vietnam can play to\nrepatriate the Rohingyas in Rakhine in Myanmar. Vietnam can easily resolve the\nproblem because it has a very good relations with Myanmar. However, Vietnam can support for\nBangladesh’s bid for membership in Mekong-Ganga Cooperation Forum and the ASEAN\nSectoral Partnership. Bangladesh and Vietnam can closely cooperate in different\nregional forums including BISMTEC, ARF, ASEM, and AMED and multilateral forums\nincluding UN, WTO and ITU.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However,\nthe three countries can also increase production in the agricultural sector\nthrough joint ventures. Apart from adopting joint investment projects,\nBangladesh can increase imports of various agricultural products including\npulses, spices, fish and rice. Thus, enhancing trilateral relations could\ncontribute to the growth of trade and investment relations with ASEAN and\nBIMSTEC countries. This will create an opportunity to solve the Rohingya\nproblem and stop militant activities. Therefore, Myanmar should take effective\nsteps to strengthen bilateral relations to connect the South East Asia with\nSouth Asia. Vietnam should and can play an effective role to motivate Myanmar\nto bolster ties with Bangladesh. Benefit is waiting not only for Myanmar but\nalso for Vietnam.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MD Pathik Hasan Myanmar is one of Bangladesh\u2019s closest neighbors with historic connectivity going back centuries. The 271 km long Bangladesh-Myanmar border is very important for Bangladesh due to its strategic position, although at present the area is militarized due to its ongoing internal conflicts. Were this to be resolved, Bangladesh could develop routes via […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[179],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-120585","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-md-pathik-hasan"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120585","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=120585"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120585\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=120585"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=120585"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=120585"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}