Countries in the Indo-Pacific region, including Bangladesh, are extremely vulnerable to non-traditional security threats and they need a collective approach to address the issue, speakers at a roundtable discussion have said.
These threats, such as climate change and human trafficking, cannot be addressed by any government alone, so the countries need to develop national strategies in line with transnational cooperation mechanisms, they added.
Most countries do not have comprehensive security strategies and many threats are addressed on an ad-hoc basis. Bangladesh is particularly vulnerable to some of these non-traditional threats and there is a need to address this on an urgent basis, the speakers further said.
The experts were speaking at a roundtable, titled “Non-traditional security threats in the Indo-Pacific region”, at a city hotel on Sunday. The program was organized by the Bangladesh Institute of Peace and Security Studies (BIPSS) and Dhaka Tribune.
BIPSS President Maj Gen ANM Muniruzzaman and Dhaka Tribune Editor Zafar Sobhan jointly moderated the roundtable, which was attended by diplomats, academics, journalists, and students.
Former ambassador Air Vice Marshall (retd) Mahmud Hussain, and Independent University Bangladesh (IUB) Chair of Department of Global Studies and Governance Assistant Prof Marufa Akter were among the panellists.
Mahmud Hussain presented a comprehensive overview of non-traditional security threats, including climate change, energy, food, water, disaster management, pandemic and health issues, human and drug trafficking, and illegal fishing.
He said: “Non-traditional security threats do not appear as immediately pressing for national security as traditional military threats are, but they have long-term consequences in the energy and environmental sectors, health, food autarky, migration, economic progress, sustainability, and democracy.”
BIPSS President ANM Muniruzzaman Mahmud Hossain Opu/Dhaka TribuneHe added that the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework would be useful in meeting these challenges as it is critical to advancing partnerships in areas that directly or indirectly address non-traditional security concerns of the participating countries.
The participating countries can set up partnerships in areas such as trade, digital economy and technology, supply chain resiliency, de-carbonisation and clean energy, infrastructure building, workers’ standard, taxation, investment screening and anti-corruption, he said.
Air Vice Marshall Retd And Former Ambassador Mahmud Hussain Mahmud Hossain Opu/Dhaka TribuneMarufa Akter said: “Non-traditional security issues, such as resource scarcity, irregular migration, and climate change, can cause societal and political instability. As a result, they become threats to security.”
She added that one of the biggest challenges the ensuring sufficient fresh water to meet the demands of rapid urbanization and agriculture.
Mentioning that national solutions are often inadequate, she said: “These threats need regional and multilateral cooperation. Due to the current pattern of globalization and technological advancement, non-traditional security threats will become more intense and out of control over time.”
Assistant Professor And Chair Of The Department Of Global Studies Governance Of Independent University Bangladesh Marufa Akter Mahmud Hossain Opu/Dhaka TribuneBIPSS President ANM Muniruzzaman said: “No understanding of security is complete without identification and understanding of non-traditional security threats. There is a new school of understanding on the non-traditional security threats, which are mostly non-military in nature. They threaten the well-being and even survival of the people of any country or region.”
A country is only secure when its people are safe from all kinds of threats, so security against non-traditional threats is essential for all countries, he added.
“The current Indo-Pacific strategy that has been rolled out also has to cater the issues of non-traditional security threats, which threaten many countries in the region,” the BIPSS president further said.
Dhaka Tribune Editor Zafar Sobhan said: “It’s high time to talk about non-traditional security threats. We really can’t separate traditional and non-traditional security threats. These two are linked.”
Traditional and non-traditional threats are equally important to the lives and livelihoods of the people, he added.
Dhaka Tribune Editor Zafar Sobhan Mahmud Hossain Opu/Dhaka Tribune“These threats cannot be addressed solely by a single government. Often, we consider security issues as a zero-sum game – what could be good for one country may be negative for other – but when it comes to non-traditional security, it actually speaks about common humanity and inhabitants of this planet,” he further said.
“Non-traditional security threats can only be addressed if we work together. We need much more coordination and a comprehensive strategy,” he added.
