US combat ship joins annual exercise with Bangladesh navy

The US has brought, for the first time, its littoral combat ship Fort Worth (LCS 3) to Bangladesh for an annual naval exercise focused on “shared maritime priorities”.

Senior Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 29 Sept 2015, 03:40 PM
Updated : 29 Sept 2015, 04:51 PM

Styled ‘Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT)’, the five-day exercise will begin on Wednesday in Chittagong, where issues of counter-piracy, counter-smuggling and maritime interception operations, besides port security, would be stressed.

Both navies “gained” from this exercise being held annually since 2011, a US Navy commander of the western pacific Rear Admiral Charlie Williams said at a press briefing in Dhaka on Tuesday.

Bangladesh Navy Commodore Mishbahul Azim, Director, Naval Operations, said the exercise would improve the “professional knowledge and skills” of their personnel and strengthen the existing bilateral relation and co-operation between two “friendly” navies.

The US conducts bilateral and multilateral exercises with many countries in the region aimed at developing strong maritime partnerships for the “greater peace and stability of the region”.

CARAT is a series of bilateral naval exercises between the US Navy, US Marine Corps, and the armed forces of Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Timor-Leste.

The exercise is modelled in a way so that navies can “cooperate and work together to enhance interoperability, develop relationships and address shared maritime security priorities”.

It also gives an opportunity to become familiar with each other’s equipment and personnel.

The US Navy’s continuous engagement with Bangladesh, however, is being seen by many security analysts as a way to face the growing maritime challenge from China.

Replying to a question, Williams, however, said the Bay of Bengal had always been “a very strategically” significant place for the US and every other nation.

“It’s about freedom of trade and navigation and to maintain a secure maritime environment. And that’s why we are here”.

“Our presence here has been well established before any potential concerns with regards to China,” he said.

He said their mission was “to ensure a maritime environment so that all countries can operate in international waters, seas for trade and also humanitarian response and disaster relief”.

Littoral Combat Ship

The US embassy said this year’s CARAT in Bangladesh marked the first participation by a littoral ship, enhancing the “complexity and interoperability of the exercise”.

When asked, Williams said, the ship was available for engagement in the exercise as it was on a 16-month rotational deployment to the US 7th fleet.

This was also “part of plan to ensure that it is available for Bangladesh exercise,” he said.

The littoral combat ship (LCS) programme began in 2002 with the US Navy’s pursuit of a new class of small and stealthy ships for multi-mission support.

Being the third in the littoral class combat ship, the Forth Worth is named LCS 3.

It deploys with an aviation detachment from Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 35 (HSM-35) ‘Magicians’, the US Navy's first composite expeditionary helicopter squadron.

It consists of both manned and unmanned autonomous helicopters.

Along with this littoral combat ship, the US also brought the diving and salvage vessel USNS Safeguard, which includes a mobile diving and salvage unit, to operate with Bangladesh Navy ships and aircraft.

A maritime patrol aircraft will also participate in the CARAT with Bangladesh Navy’s aircraft to enhance maritime domain awareness.

“Our partnership with Bangladesh navy continues to mature and flourish through our routine engagement and strong relationship we’ve developed,” the Rear Admiral said.

He said Bangladesh and the US, as maritime nations shared secured maritime goals. So, he said, both sides must work closely to solve the challenges.

Some challenges require “commitment and persistence” to overcome and CARAT gives that avenue to achieve, he said.

The exercise will be conducted in two phases – shore phase and sea phase.

A number of bilateral exercises and training packages will be conducted in the shore phase from Sep 30 to Oct 4, while in the sea phase ships of both navies will participate in the Bay of Bengal from Sep 30 to Oct 2.

The exercise will include search and rescue operations at sea, disaster management, emergency medical treatment, appropriate implementation of military law and special training on maritime patrol aircraft and helicopter operations.