The United States has had a strategic interest in the Bay of Bengal long before China began to become a bigger player in the region, a visiting US rear admiral told journalists yesterday.
“Your question is about whether or not challenges from China influence our desire to be here. I would tell you that based on the fact that we have been doing CARAT in Bangladesh for five years now, and have steadily increased our capacity and our partnership with Bangladesh, I think that our presence here has been well established before any potential concern with regard to China,” US Rear Admiral Charlie Williams said at a press conference at Navy Headquarters in Dhaka yesterday.
Williams and his team are in Dhaka to attend the five-day fifth annual Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) naval exercise that starts today.
“The Bay of Bengal has always been a strategic place for the United States and for every other nation, because it’s about freedom of trade, freedom of navigation and maintaining a secure maritime environment. And that’s frankly why we are here,” the US rear admiral said.
He said CARAT was an important exercise for the two navies, adding that this is the first time US littoral combat ship USS Fort Worth would be taking part in it.
When asked how many US sailors would take part in the exercise, Williams did not give an exact number of US personnel here in Bangladesh.
A US embassy press release said CARAT is designed to address shared maritime security priorities, develop relationships and enhance cooperation between the two navies.