National Seminar
On
Security of Bangladesh: A Comprehensive Approach
30 March 2006

Speech by the Chief Guest
H.E. Mr. M. Morshed Khan, MP
Hon'ble Minister for Foreign Affairs
Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh

Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies
1/46, Old Elephant Road, Dhaka-1000

Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim

Mr. Chairman, Ambassador Mufleh R. Osmany, Chairman,
Board of Governors of BIISS
The Director General of BIISS
Distinguished Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen

Assalamu alaikum and Good Afternoon to you all.

I am honored and privileged to be invited to this National and Independence Day Commemorative seminar on the " Security of Bangladesh: A Comprehensive Approach," organized by BIISS.

On the auspicious occasion of our thirty-fifth Independence Day, I cannot but pay tribute to the many known and unknown martyrs who scarified their lives to bring about the birth of Bangladesh. Their supreme sacrifice in the War of Liberation gives very special meaning and substance to this seminar on the concept of security.

When we talk about security we embrace a term that is multi-faceted and highly elastic in its definition. There is a long line of neologisms (similar terms) involving security including inter-alia national security, common security, global security, cooperative security, human security and comprehensive security, all of which impinge on one another.

In its simplest context, security is closely associated with a states vital national interests its sovereignty, territorial integrity, political independence and economic viability. It embraces what we generally perceive to be aspects of military security.

Closely associated with Security are threat perceptions. Today, states are faced with a variety of threats both intra and inter state. Broader threat perceptions also continue to persist --- regional hegemony, spheres of influence, domination and neocolonialism.

The nature of conflict is another area of concern intimately tied to security. A new generation of multi-faceted conflicts with interwoven religious, ethnic, linguistic, economic and territorial disputes have emerged.

In recent years, traditional security issues have been widened to include non-military dimensions such as human security, sustainable development, social chaos, starvation, violence and terrorism. Security issues, after the cold war have assumed dimensions not foreseen since 1945. The threat of violence has not disappeared but the sources and manifestations of conflicts are changing. Struggles within states far outnumber those stemming from external aggression or conflicts between states. New methods are needed to counter the threat of international terrorism which is the recent phenomenon.

National Security is another term whose definition and scope is elastic. It is closely tied to concepts of power and peace and to threat perceptions. Some argue that security is a companion to rather than a derivative of power and is more usefully viewed as a prior condition of peace than a consequence of it. Foreign, military and economic policies of a state are all analyzed in terms of national and international security.

Then there are the concepts of individual versus national security. Threats to individual security come in four basic forms - physical threats, economic threats, threats to fundamental rights, threats to position or status. The state itself can be a source of threat - domestic law making and enforcement; direct actions against individuals or groups, structural violence, struggle over control of state machinery and a states external security policy.

Another element is the internal dimension of security in which two factors are predominant-- the lack of social cohesion and state capacities.

The dominant security discourse regarding National Security includes two factors (i) state and regime-centric and (ii) threat based. It is concerned with geo-political and military formations of security, exclusion of threats by military means and ensuring a state's political order internally. National Security is defined as the "ability to preserve the nation's physical integrity and territory, to maintain economic relations with the rest of the world on reasonable terms, to protect its nature, institutions and governance from disruption from outside and to control its borders (Harold Brown 1983).

We turn now to the concept of " human security". This encourages policy makers and scholars to think about security as something more than the military defense of a state's interests and territory. Definitions vary but most formulations regarding "human security" emphasize the welfare of ordinary people. The most vocal promoters of this concept are Canada and Norway. Concepts of Human Security have two limitations First, the concept lacks precise definition, it is expansive and encourages everything from physical security to psychological well-being. Second, the most ardent backers have an interest in keeping the definition vague. The idea of human security is the glue that holds together a jumbled coalition of " middle power" states, development agencies and NGO's. Their purpose is to shift the focus from conventional security issues to the goal of international development.

In today's world, the most pervasive phenomenon in international relations are advances in science and technology especially the revolution in communications embodied in the concept of globalization. Its impact on security and foreign policy cannot be ignored. The traditional way of dealing with security (basically state-centric and with emphasis on military security) appears to be inadequate for the task of effectively tackling the challenges of technology especially in cybernetics. Questions have arisen as to how much of traditional security remains relevant. Security is now regarded to have a much wider focus and range. In traditional terms security is about threats to the existence of a nation state and the adoption of emergency or extraordinary measures to deal with them. But the non-traditional approach to security tends to make it all-inclusive. Security is thus defined in relation to vulnerabilities that threaten or have the potential to bring down or significantly weaken state structures both territorial and institutional; as well as the regimes that preside over these structures to represent them internationally."

Transnational economic and financial flows are at work that possesses the capacity to wreak havoc on national economies. They cannot be tackled by military means but only by appropriate policies adopted primarily at the national level but which also need international and regional cooperation. In the era of globalization economic performance has become an important ingredient of our national security. This is not to suggest that military power has lost its utility or relevance but to emphasize that non-military sectors have assumed key importance.

It is in the line of this evolution of what is meant by security that we have a larger appreciation of the term "comprehensive security". The term was first coined by Japanese Prime Minister Masahiro OHIRA and can be traced back to Japan's thinking on security during the 1950's.

Its meaning goes far beyond the requirements of military defense against a particular enemy and stresses the need to take into account other aspects vital to national stability such as food, energy, environment, communication and social security. While not denying the importance of military security it explicitly encompasses a wide range of other interests - such as environment security, energy security, cybernetics and greater transparency of international financial markets. The concept stresses the need for confidence building methods and cooperation with other countries.

What then are the implications of comprehensive security for Bangladesh. There is no doubt that we have vulnerabilities on practically all aspects and areas both military and non-military i.e. territorial concerns; economic viability, transnational economic and financial concerns, climate change and environmental degradation, political concerns, social chaos, arms and drug trafficking, terrorism etc. These define the main sources of threats that we face today. We cannot dispense with military power as this acts as a major deterrent. However, the forces of globalization also impinge on all our preservation goals. The most pressing task for us is to minimize the degree of vulnerability and reduce threats. We must shape our security environment through an effective and realistic assessment of our national interest. A vital priority is to strive for political stability at home, maintain constant vigilance, seek active cooperation and coordinated efforts abroad and engage in a continuous process of confidence building within the nation and beyond.