Lanka, Bangladesh boost maritime security

Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are expanding defence and maritime security partnerships with Japan, the United States, Australia and other regional partners as strategic competition intensifies across the Indian Ocean, according to a report published by Indo-Pacific Defense FORUM.

The two South Asian countries are seeking to strengthen maritime domain awareness, secure vital trade routes and combat illicit activities at sea while maintaining their strategic autonomy, the report by New Delhi-based FORUM contributor Mandeep Singh said.

Nilanthi Samaranayake, an adjunct fellow at the East-West Center who focuses on national security issues, said Bangladesh and Sri Lanka had primarily pursued maritime capacity-building through bilateral partnerships.

India and the United States had been Sri Lanka’s most important partners, while Bangladesh had benefited from defence exercises with the US and the transfer of maritime assets, including Coast Guard cutters, patrol boats and surveillance drones, she told FORUM.

Both countries are among those eligible for assistance under the US Indo-Pacific Maritime Security Initiative, launched a decade ago to strengthen multilateral maritime security and maritime domain awareness.

Their defence cooperation with Washington, however, predates the initiative.

Bangladesh became the first South Asian country to participate in the US-led Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) exercise series in 2010, while Sri Lanka joined the exercise in 2017.

CARAT Sri Lanka 2026 was conducted in late July in the Indian Ocean and at locations in Colombo and Trincomalee, while CARAT Bangladesh was held in early November.

Japan has also expanded maritime security cooperation with the two countries through its Official Security Assistance programme.

Bangladesh received five patrol vessels from Japan in mid-2026, while Sri Lanka is due to receive Japanese-made uncrewed aerial vehicles for maritime surveillance and disaster relief.

Australia is another key partner in the Indian Ocean region, with its maritime security cooperation with Sri Lanka targeting transnational crimes including drug smuggling, human trafficking and illegal fishing.

The Australia-Sri Lanka maritime security initiative, Operation Disi Rela, was most recently conducted across Sri Lanka in June.

Under the initiative, Australia also provided the Sri Lanka Coast Guard with 12 long-range drones and five all-terrain vehicles.

Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have also expanded cooperation through regional mechanisms.

As members of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC), the two countries participated in the grouping’s inaugural maritime security exercise conducted in India in October and November.

India and Sri Lanka agreed in 2025 to strengthen defence cooperation, including through the Colombo Security Conclave, which also brings together Bangladesh, Maldives, Mauritius and Seychelles.

The growing cooperation reflects the strategic importance of the two countries’ locations along major international shipping routes and resource-rich maritime areas.

“Dhaka and Colombo have sought to secure their maritime areas and increase their maritime domain awareness,” Samaranayake was quoted as saying.

The report said the expanding network of bilateral and multilateral partnerships reflected growing efforts by Bangladesh and Sri Lanka to strengthen their ability to monitor and protect their maritime domains amid increasing strategic competition in the Indian Ocean region.