BGB tightens restrictions to prevent goods from Bangladesh reaching Arakan

By Admin 26 Sep 2025

DMG Newsroom

26 September 2025, Maungdaw

Locals from the border area report that the Bangladesh Border Guard (BGB) has increased restrictions on individuals attempting to transport goods from inside Bangladesh into Arakan State.

Yesterday evening (September 25), the Bangladesh Coast Guard pursued and opened fire on a motorboat carrying goods from the St. Martin's Island area towards the Arakan side, according to locals.

"Yes, it's true the Bangladesh Coast Guard shot. It happened around sunset, about 8 PM. We only know it was a boat carrying goods. We don't know what specific goods were on it," said a local fisherman from Maungdaw.

Previously, on September 21, the Bangladesh Coast Guard also arrested a motorboat carrying goods destined for Arakan and three merchants.

The boat was carrying cement, fertilizer, and cooking oil, and the arrest was made because it was an attempt to smuggle the goods into the Arakan side, said Bangladesh Coast Guard spokesperson Commodore Siam-ul-Haq, as reported by Bangladeshi media.

Similarly, on September 20, the Bangladesh Coast Guard arrested 10 Muslim merchants bringing basic food commodities, and on September 14, they arrested 11 Muslim merchants who were transporting basic goods.

Political analysts assess that Bangladesh's restriction on the flow of goods to Arakan is a form of pressure on the Arakan Army (AA), demonstrating a tense, non-cooperative stance in bilateral relations.

"Looking at the global political situation, Bangladesh's relationship with the US is currently very strong within South Asia, so in principle, having good relations with the AA was never going to be easy from the start. Another point is that since they can't shape the AA to their liking, they are not only imposing trade blockades but also, on one hand, using Muslim armed groups to pressure the AA. We can't say this isn't part of the US's agenda either," analyzed a young political observer.

In the current situation, Arakan Army Commander-in-Chief Major General Twan Mrat Naing has stated in an interview with Irrawaddy News that the AA is dealing with Bangladesh patiently and in good faith.

There have also been arrests by the Bangladeshi military on September 22, where six indigenous Chakma people from the Chittagong Hill Tracts who had come to hunt were accused of being linked to the AA. There are growing concerns over continuous human rights violations against the minority indigenous people of the Chittagong Hill Tracts.