Bay of Bengal Tensions Rise as CIA Hosts Bangladesh DGFI for Myanmar Military Briefing

Bangladesh’s military intelligence DGFI chief, Maj Gen Jahangir Alam, meets CIA officials in Washington to discuss secret military plans in Myanmar’s Rakhine State.

Martin Keller/ Brussels/ Global News Desk/ Europeans24

In a quiet but geopolitically charged development, Bangladesh’s top military intelligence official, Major General Jahangir Alam, Director General of the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI), has landed in Washington D.C. to conduct high-level discussions with officers of the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Sources close to the matter confirm that the main agenda of this unusual transcontinental visit is a classified briefing on planned military operations in Myanmar’s volatile Rakhine State, a region already steeped in conflict and humanitarian crises.

Documents obtained and reviewed by Northeast News indicate that the briefing, though labelled “routine” by some diplomatic sources, carries critical implications for regional security, U.S. interests in Southeast Asia, and Bangladesh’s emerging role in the geopolitics of the Bay of Bengal.

An Intelligence Chief on the Move

Maj Gen Alam departed Dhaka on April 20th aboard Qatar Airways Flight QR-639, along with Brigadier General Syed Anwar Mahmud, head of the Counter Terrorism Intelligence Bureau (CTIB), and an unnamed lieutenant from the Army’s Ordnance Division. The presence of the CTIB chief underscores the broader counterterrorism dimension of the upcoming operations in Rakhine, especially considering reports about the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army’s (ARSA) involvement.

Interestingly, the delegation’s spouses were also part of the itinerary, travelling the same route via Doha to Washington. This raises eyebrows among diplomatic observers, who suggest that such inclusivity points to a pre-planned, extended engagement, rather than a routine technical debrief.

The Bangladesh Foreign Ministry and the Embassy in Washington D.C. were both notified in advance, signalling formal state involvement and bilateral transparency with U.S. officials.

The Rakhine Focus: A Region on Edge

The centerpiece of Alam’s briefing, according to security sources, revolves around planned military operations in Myanmar’s Rakhine State, targeting junta-controlled areas such as Sittwe, Kyaukphyu, and Manaung. These towns remain strongholds of the Myanmar military junta, which has held on to power through brute force since the 2021 coup.

Rakhine, home to both the oppressed Rohingya minority and several ethnic armed groups, has long been a hotspot of violence. What’s different now is the formation of an emerging military coalition—comprising the Arakan Army (AA), the Chin National Front (CNF), and potentially ARSA—a once-feared insurgent group previously accused of radical Islamist links.

Sources within Bangladeshi intelligence suggest that a multipronged attack against the Myanmar junta’s coastal positions is being actively considered, with Bangladesh’s own military playing a key logistical and support role.

Geostrategic Groundwork: From Silkhali to Capitol Hill

The visit follows a series of strategic moves on Bangladeshi soil, particularly in the Silkhali mouza region, situated on the Bay of Bengal coastline around 30 kilometres north of Teknaf. In February 2025, the Bangladesh Army earmarked this location for a supply and logistics base, widely believed to be linked to the impending operation across the border.

Silkhali is not only geographically vital—its proximity to Cox’s Bazar and the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) makes it an ideal launching pad—but also politically sensitive, due to the presence of over one million Rohingya refugees in nearby camps.

This forward positioning coincides with a recent flurry of visits from American diplomats, including Susan Stevenson, U.S. Charge d’Affaires in Naypyidaw, and Deputy Assistant Secretaries Nicole Ann Chulick and Andrew R. Herrup, representing the State Department’s South and Central Asian and East Asian and Pacific bureaus, respectively. The American delegation visited both the CHT and Cox’s Bazar just days before Alam’s departure.

Their timing hints at a U.S. intelligence interest in shaping or at least monitoring the upcoming military developments, especially in light of America’s deteriorating relationship with Myanmar’s military regime and growing interest in curbing Chinese influence in the Indo-Pacific.

A Coordination of Hawks: Bangladesh’s Security Apparatus in Motion

Just hours after Maj Gen Alam’s departure, Bangladesh’s National Security Advisor (NSA) Khalilur Rahman convened a high-level meeting with top military and intelligence leaders, including:

• Lt. Gen. Kamrul Hassan, Principal Staff Officer, Armed Forces Division
• Maj Gen Sarwar Farid, Head of the National Security Intelligence (NSI)
• Maj Gen Ashrafuzzaman Siddiqui, DG of Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB)
• Rear Admiral Ziaul Haque, DG of the Coast Guard

The agenda? To assess Bangladesh’s border readiness, recent Arakan Army activities, and Rohingya movements across land and maritime boundaries. Two days later, the NSA followed up with a meeting involving Maj Gen Mohammad Asadullah Minhazul Alam, commanding officer of the 10th Infantry Division, a unit likely to be directly involved in operational planning.

This high tempo of strategic coordination suggests that Bangladesh is positioning itself not merely as a passive neighbour but as a proactive stakeholder in shaping the future of western Myanmar.

The CIA Factor: Why Washington is Watching

While details of Maj Gen Alam’s CIA briefing remain confidential, regional analysts believe the Americans are deeply invested in the unfolding situation. The Rakhine coast is strategically significant—not only does it offer direct maritime access to the Bay of Bengal, but it is also a site of Chinese infrastructure projects, including a port at Kyaukphyu.

A shift in control from the Myanmar junta to an ethnic coalition sympathetic to Western powers could reshape regional dynamics. That scenario would be music to the ears of U.S. Indo-Pacific strategists, who have long been seeking to contain Beijing’s deepening foothold in Myanmar.

By offering intelligence coordination and backchannel support, the CIA could be aiming to influence the nature and outcome of the Rakhine offensive—without placing boots on the ground.

The Timing Game: Monsoon vs. Momentum

While military planners often work around the calendar, nature still dictates war’s rhythms. The May–August monsoon season across the Bangladesh-Myanmar border renders jungle operations virtually impossible, delaying troop movements and air logistics.

According to Bangladeshi analysts, September 2025 is the most probable window for a full-scale offensive. But much depends on whether the AA, CNF, and ARSA—a coalition still marked by ideological and operational differences—can unify into a coherent fighting force.

“Coalitions of necessity are always fragile,” says European security analyst Dr. Clara Hoffmann. “Especially when the operational goals are unclear, and external powers like the U.S. and China are hovering in the background.”

Major General Jahangir Alam’s quiet visit to Washington may not make global headlines—yet—but it is part of a broader recalibration in South Asian geopolitics. As Myanmar’s military clings to power and its neighbours weigh their strategic options, Bangladesh appears to be charting a new role: not just as a victim of regional instability but as a shaper of it.

What happens in the jungles and hills of Rakhine State this autumn could ripple all the way to Washington, Beijing, and Brussels.

Source: Northeast News