Searching common security in the Bay of Bengal

Abstract

The Bay of Bengal gained greater importance as an economic hub when the Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand–Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) initiative was established in 1997. Besides the promotion of trade and investment, security issues have also become a common concern for BIMSTEC members since 2005. In contrast to other regional organisations BIMSTEC member states share common perspectives of many non-traditional security threats. Even if regional solutions with all member states may be difficult to achieve this has opened the space for bilateral or mini-lateral initiatives mainly under India’s leadership. The BIMSTEC summit in 2022 has strengthened the institutional framework of the organisation that should help to tackle common security challenges.