Beyond Consultation: BIMSTEC's Emerging Role in Regional Intelligence and Security Cooperation

The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is one of the major regional groupings that is actively working towards building regional cooperation in the Bay of Bengal region. The regional grouping involves the seven member states, namely India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Nepal, and Bhutan, which consider the Bay of Bengal as “common security space” and cooperate by means of consultations among the National Security Chiefs, intelligence exchanges, maritime surveillance coordination, joint disaster management exercises, and cooperation against terrorism, trafficking, piracy, cyber-attacks, and illegal fishing. The objective of the grouping is not to move towards an alliance system but to build a mechanism for consultation and coordination, which makes it possible for the coast guards, navies, police forces, and security agencies of the member countries to exchange information and collaborate in response to conventional and non-conventional security challenges, including terrorism, climate change-induced disasters, energy disruptions, and maritime crimes.

Since the Goa Retreat in 2016 and the 2022 Summit, there has been a growing institutionalisation in BIMSTEC with respect to security collaboration via sub-sectors dedicated to Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime, Disaster Management, and Energy Security, in addition to Indian efforts towards maritime domain awareness, coastal radar networks, humanitarian assistance, and military exercises. BIMSTEC’s National Security Chiefs meetings that began in 2017 are one of the main highlights of this cooperation. During one such meeting in July 2024 that was held in Myanmar, the representatives discussed counter-terrorism, intelligence exchanges, transnational crimes, cybersecurity, maritime security, and regional stability. The 5th Meeting of the BIMSTEC National Security Chiefs was held in New Delhi on 16 July 2026. NSA Shri Ajit Doval hosted the National Security Advisers, and the meeting is a very significant event for India in terms of regional security cooperation and intelligence cooperation in the Bay of Bengal region. BIMSTEC is composed of India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, and Thailand, linking South Asia and Southeast Asia by way of the Bay of Bengal region. In today’s security scenario, security threats are no longer confined to conventional military threats. Terrorism, cybercrime, drug trafficking, human trafficking, arms trafficking, illegal immigration, maritime threats, and online radicalisation are some of the major issues relating to intelligence cooperation. These threats cannot be handled or stopped by a single country alone. As such, the 5th BIMSTEC NSA Meeting is not just another diplomatic event; it is a significant step towards strengthening regional intelligence cooperation and collective security. This meeting is particularly useful for India because it addresses several security issues that are directly connected to India’s national security interests.

Highlights of the 5th BIMSTEC NSA Meeting:

• Real-time intelligence sharing regarding insurgents, terrorists, weapons trafficking and smugglers.
• Counter-terrorism cooperation to monitor their funding, recruitment, communication and movement across borders.
• Border management cooperation using intelligence-based monitoring, biometrics and data exchanges.
• Maritime intelligence cooperation for monitoring suspicious ships, drug trafficking, human trafficking, piracy and maritime terrorism in the Bay of Bengal.
• Cybersecurity cooperation through cybersecurity threat information sharing and digital forensic expertise.

The NSAs and Heads of Delegation discussed ways to boost cooperation in efforts to deal with terrorism and organised crime, ensure security in cyberspace, maritime and energy fields, increase regional connectivity, improve disaster management and manage emerging security challenges. At the meeting, guidelines for the maritime dimension of Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) were adopted to facilitate the conduct of the relief operations in the Bay of Bengal region in a more coordinated and efficient manner by the BIMSTEC member states. Furthermore, the delegates approved a set of guidelines for the conduct of maritime law enforcement agencies during encounters at sea. It is anticipated that the guidelines will provide a framework to enhance predictability and reduce misunderstandings during maritime encounters between the member states of BIMSTEC.

The most important achievement in the 5th BIMSTEC NSA Meeting has been the acknowledgement of the fact that intelligence cooperation is the basis of regional security. No amount of military might will protect against terrorist activities, cybercrimes, drug trafficking, or organised crime. Preventive Intelligence, mutual trust, and coordinated action are often more effective in dealing with such threats. This conference is especially beneficial for India, as many security issues that India faces are regional and not merely domestic. These include insurgency in the Northeast, the narcotic trade coming from the Golden Triangle area, maritime smuggling in the Bay of Bengal, and cybersecurity issues involving international networks.

Finally, the conference shows that India is moving towards a broader concept of cooperative security, when neighbouring states cooperate to find potential dangers at an early stage and react to them collectively. If carried out effectively, the BIMSTEC can become one of the most efficient intelligence cooperation frameworks in the region.

How is this meeting beneficial for the region?

The 5th BIMSTEC NSA Meeting is useful for the whole Bay of Bengal region, because it facilitates intelligence and security cooperation between India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, and Thailand. By sharing intelligence consistently, participating countries would be able to detect terrorist networks, narcotics trafficking, human trafficking, cybersecurity threats and maritime crimes in their early stages. The meeting would enhance border coordination and maritime surveillance as well, which is important in safeguarding trade routes and coastal economies of these countries. Cooperation between the countries will lead to trust and a rapid response in case of security emergencies and disasters. It is quite obvious that the security of the Bay of Bengal region will facilitate the growth of the economy and connectivity projects in the region.

Why Intelligence sharing with BIMSTEC partners is important for INDIA?

While BIMSTEC nations are India’s partner countries, many of the security concerns that threaten India are present in or flow through the region of the Bay of Bengal. India has several challenges that either originate or get support from origins in Bangladesh, which include the presence of some Northeast insurgency outfits seeking shelter in Bangladesh, the issue of illegal migration, use of counterfeit currency, and smuggling. The India-Myanmar border is another problem area due to insurgents, arms smugglers, drug peddlers, and human trafficking taking place from this border, and the political instability in Myanmar makes the sharing of intelligence difficult. In Nepal, there is an open border that can be misused by criminal elements, fake document rackets, and hostile intelligence organizations. India faces maritime threats from Sri Lanka in the form of smuggling, narcotics, disputes over illegal fishing, and criminal exploitation of sea routes.

Significance of Cooperation in BIMSTEC for India:

The Northeastern part of India has long suffered from insurgency, smuggling of weapons and militant movements across the borders. Cooperation with Bangladesh and Myanmar can greatly diminish safe havens and logistical support for these kinds of movements. Already in recent years, cooperation with Bangladesh showed some promising results, and BIMSTEC can institutionalize such cooperation on a regional level. In the context of India’s Act East Policy, which aims to increase economic connectivity with Southeast Asia, it becomes pertinent to understand that economic connectivity is possible only when there is security across the border is well fortified.  Secure borders, secure transport routes and intelligence cooperation are required for the implementation of projects which will connect India with Myanmar and Thailand. At the same time, this cooperation can also help reduce the strategic constraints prevalent in the SAARC grouping because of Pakistan's angle. Regional security cooperation within SAARC is often hindered due to political disagreements. BIMSTEC is offering India a more realistic platform for cooperation, free from SAARC’s South Asian disputes. Meanwhile, India-led active intelligence cooperation in the Bay of Bengal region helps in shifting India’s image as a Regional Security provider. In this way, India can increase its strategic leverage and build trust among neighbours.

Lessons from other regional security cooperation initiatives:

 A relevant case in point would be the anti-terrorist cooperation among the ASEAN countries following the Bali bombings of 2002. There was an increase in intelligence sharing and coordination in investigating terrorist networks. The result was a setback for terrorist activities in Southeast Asia. Regional organisations can make important gains in terms of security through cooperation in intelligence sharing. The same can be expected from the 5th BIMSTEC NSA Meeting regarding issues such as terrorism, trafficking, cybercrime, and maritime security.

Challenges and Limitations:

Though very important, this meeting cannot overcome all intelligence challenges such as the differences in intelligence capabilities among BIMSTEC countries, the lack of advanced technology in some member countries, political instability of some countries, for example, of Myanmar, and Concerns about the confidentiality of exchanged intelligence. Furthermore, the slow process of agreement implementation can also impede the necessary momentum. Finally, the differences in national interests can act as a major hurdle in active intelligence sharing. Therefore, the long-term success of the meeting will depend on sustainable follow-up, institutional coordination, and effective implementation of the agreed mechanisms.

Conclusion:

Thus, the 5th BIMSTEC NSA Meeting may be seen as a highly strategic and important step forward for India in terms of intelligence and national security. Among the key topics discussed at the Meeting were counter-terrorism, intelligence cooperation, cyber security, maritime security, border management, and combating transnational organised crime. There exist numerous intelligence-related problems connected with Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Thailand for India, namely insurgency, smuggling, drug trafficking, illegal immigration, and cyber threats. There exist numerous ways through which the Meeting can address those challenges, such as intelligence cooperation, better border management, maritime cooperation, and cyber security cooperation. Perhaps one of the biggest advantages that the Meeting gives to India in terms of its national security is the development of preventive intelligence cooperation, which is very important for India’s internal security, protection of the Bay of Bengal region, promotion of the Act East Policy, and strengthening of its position as a regional security power. Despite the difficulties in implementation, an NSA-level meeting of BIMSTEC member countries is a very important and necessary step towards creating a regional security architecture through intelligence cooperation.

(The views expressed are those of the author and do not represent the views of CESCUBE)

Image Source: Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC), https://bimstec.org/event/334/5th-meeting-of-the-bimstec-national-security-chiefs-held-in-new-delhi