French Ambassador Marie Masdupuy has termed the visit of the stealth frigate Surcouf to Bangladesh as a “milestone” in Dhaka-Paris relations and a sign of France's political commitment to supporting Bangladesh.
The Bangladesh navy also hailed the visit, which the Chittagong area commander said serves as “a testament of shared commitment" to a safe and secure maritime environment.
“This is a very good moment for our relations,” the French Ambassador said while speaking onboard Surcouf at the Chittagong Container Terminal on Monday night in the presence of naval officers of both countries.
Surcouf, a La Fayette type stealth frigate, arrived in Chittagong port on Sunday on a five-day port-call under the leadership of the Joint Commander of the French Force, Rear Admiral Emmanuel Slaars.
“When I came to Bangladesh in November, it was one of my dreams to bring back the French navy ship to a Bangladesh port,” Masdupuy said. The last such port call was in 2016.
“My mission is accomplished,” an apparently contented Masdupuy said. “I am really overwhelmed by happiness. I am also overwhelmed because it's another occasion to see the excellent nature, substance of the relations between our two countries.”
“We enjoy historical relations. It's not enough to enjoy. We also have to build on it to deliver concrete results to live up to the expectations of the people of both the countries. We have common interests; we have shared values.
“This Surcouf stealth frigate will definitely be a milestone in our relations in the coming months and years. This is not only because of the frigate itself as a frontline ship, but also because Admiral Slaars who came over to lead the visit to Bangladesh. This is the sign of our political commitment to support your country,” she said.
“Another sign of these very excellent relations, since yesterday we have met all the military chiefs, strategic leaders in Dhaka, and in Chittagong, and also met the honourable Prime Minister. This is a very good moment in our relations,” the ambassador added.
“This is very much needed in this period. We are all facing so many challenges from the massive military invasion by Russia in Ukraine and climate change. We need to build the relations in a positive way between the two countries and build it in a regional context. I am very encouraged to see the regional dimension of the visit of Admiral Slaars,” she further said.
Admiral Slaars is based in Abu Dhabi. Any French naval ship that enters this region must be led by him.
A symbol of strong friendship
Bangladesh Navy Regional Commander of Chittagong Rear Admiral Abdullah Al Mamun Chowdhury also hailed the visit, saying: “This symbolizes the strong bonds of friendship and co-operation between the two nations and their navies.
“It serves as a testament to the shared commitment to a safe and secure maritime environment. This visit also reinforces the broader diplomatic relations that exist between Bangladesh and France,” he said.
“The collaboration between our navies has been characterized by mutual respect and trust. The various training and also capacity building initiatives which have been undertaken by the French navy have greatly contributed to the overall development of the Bangladesh navy, especially in the field of hydrology.
“With French navy support, we have built the hydrographic and oceanographic centre in Chittagong. They have visited the centre. It's a professional contribution to the Bangladesh navy,” he said.
What is a stealth frigate?
A frigate is a type of warship. Stealth technology makes it harder to detect by one or more of radar, visual, sonar, and infrared methods when it moves.
Surcouf is a La Fayette type frigate, which is a multi-purpose combat vessel. It is 125m in length and 15.4m in width. This ship also carries onboard a Panther anti-ship helicopter and its detachment.
The name Surcouf came from Robert Surcouf, a French privateer and businessman who operated in the Indian Ocean from 1795 to 1808 during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.
What's the French interest in the region?
Admiral Slaars said France is an Indo-Pacific nation with its La Réunion island and the overseas territories in the western part of the Indian Ocean, as well as New Caledonia and Polynesia in the Pacific Ocean, where about two million French people live.
Because of those areas, France has one of the largest exclusive economic zones in the world.
“So, we are engaged in the region to defend and protect our resources and international law. It means freedom of navigation, freedom of flight in international space. We also fight against illegal trafficking of narcotics and non-legal weapons under the UN framework,” he said while talking to journalists on the ship.
For example, he said the Surcouf seized two tons of narcotics in the Arabian Sea on its way to Bangladesh from France's southeastern city of Toulon.
By non-legal weapons, he meant the UN Security Council resolution that prevented movement of arms in some conflict zones such as Yemen.
“We are extremely concerned by the illegal trafficking of narcotics,” he said, adding that they are ready to share their knowledge with other countries.
“You need to be trained to detect narcotics. We are skilled to do this,” he said.
Significance of the visit
“I really wanted to be able to visit Bangladesh and we did it,” Admiral Slaars said as Bangladesh is his area of responsibility. “We did it with not just a patrol ship, but with a frontline ship like the Surcouf.”
He further said: “We are happy to demonstrate that we are effectively able to visit your country, to operate and patrol in the Bay of Bengal while defending the law of the seas.
“We'll always defend international law, wherever it is. If the strait is defined internationally, it has to be free for navigation,” he said.
He was also happy to see that the hydrographic wing of the Bangladesh navy was built with the help of the French navy.
“I am personally honoured and touched by this. They are now autonomous. It's a result of a long collaboration,” he said.
“This service is now completely digitized,” the French ambassador added.
Future collaboration
The admiral also sees the prospect of future collaboration in many ways.
“I had the opportunity to cross the ship of the Bangladesh navy, regularly coming to the Arabian Gulf. Now it gives us the opportunity to work together and do some training activities. We will have joint exercises at sea at the end of the visit.”
“We are both active members of the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium. So, we have scope to work together,” he said.
“We will be able to study any specific request (sent) to us,” he said, when asked whether the French navy is ready to help build the Bangladesh navy 3D, a goal set by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
“We are of course convinced of this (3D),” he said. In the Surcouf, the helicopter is being used to fly above and away from the ship to send signals to the ship.
