Bangladesh must strengthen its defence capabilities and establish a national security agency to coordinate responses to emerging threats, speakers said at a dialogue in Dhaka today.

They said the country could no longer rely on fragmented institutions as military, cyber and maritime vulnerabilities continued to test its sovereignty and strategic autonomy.

Speaking as the chief guest at a high-level national dialogue, titled "Securing Bangladesh's Future: Rethinking National Security in a New and Changing Era", organised by the Center for Peace Studies at North South University, National Professor Mahbub Ullah said Bangladesh alone could not ensure its security and must build alliances with countries that shared its security risks.

The eminent economist and educationist said that Bangladesh had failed to give adequate attention to its armed forces, particularly air and naval defence, and should allocate a larger share of the national budget to strengthening defence.

Professor Mahbub said Bangladesh should not be intimidated by major powers and needed a national consensus on its identity to become a unified force capable of defending the country.

A determined smaller nation could resist a stronger power, he said, citing Vietnam's war against the United States.

He said alliances with friendly countries could strengthen Bangladesh's ability to defend itself in a conflict. He also called for a national security council to formulate patriotic, meaningful and cost-effective policies.

Maj Gen (retd) Fazle Elahi Akbar, chairman of the Foundation for Strategic and Development Studies, said a national security council alone would not be enough.

He proposed establishing a national security agency headed by a national security adviser, with the council serving as its central decision-making body under the prime minister.

The agency, he said, should gather information, assess issues with national security implications and place major decisions before the council.

"Unless and until we have a national security agency, we will keep harping on issues. We will be having seminars, and we will not have anything," he said.

Maj Gen (retd) Akbar said Bangladesh's airspace remained vulnerable and warned that buying advanced military platforms without integrated command, surveillance and operational systems would have little value.

"We are thinking of buying expensive toys," he said, adding that without proper integration such platforms could be destroyed within the first 24 hours of a conflict.

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He also argued that Bangladesh could not remain neutral indefinitely and should evaluate possible alliances under a "Bangladesh first" approach.

Lt Gen (retd) Mohammad Mahfuzur Rahman, chairman of the Osmani Centre for Peace and Security Studies, said Bangladesh needed "smart defence" rather than an arms race.

He said only 3.4-4 percent of the defence budget was available for development and capital purchases, while the remainder was spent on personnel and maintenance.

Bangladesh lacked an overarching national security policy and continued to depend on the 2018 defence policy, he said, adding that the armed forces faced capability and coordination gaps.

Lt Gen (retd) Mahfuzur said the country needed a national security council at the political level and a higher defence organisation, including a chief of defence headquarters, at the operational level.

Citing Singapore's experience, he said credible deterrence was necessary for a country to pursue economic development without external pressure.

Referring to the 2017 Rohingya crisis, he said Myanmar did not "leave Bangladesh alone" because the country lacked credible deterrence.

He also said Myanmar had violated Bangladesh's airspace 19 times and mines were still being laid along the border. Earlier, he said, the Tatmadaw had bullied Bangladesh, while the Arakan Army was now doing the same.

Maj Gen (retd) Ibne Fazal Shayekhuzzaman, former commandant of the Defence Services Command and Staff College, said cyber security was no longer an IT issue but a matter of national security.

He said Bangladesh remained digitally connected but not digitally sovereign because its hardware, software, data storage and networks depended on foreign systems.

Maj Gen (retd) Md Wahid-Uz-Zaman, former commandant of the Military Institute of Science and Technology, said artificial intelligence had transformed cyber warfare by becoming a tool, a target and a threat in itself.

Commodore (retd) Syed Misbah Uddin Ahmad, director general of the Bangladesh Institute of Maritime Research and Development, said Bangladesh must move beyond "sea blindness" and treat maritime security as the protection of trade, energy, undersea cables, resources and strategic interests extending beyond its territorial waters.

Rear Admiral (retd) M Anwar Hossain, academic adviser at the National Defence College, called for an apex maritime security body, an integrated maritime information architecture and AI-enabled maritime domain awareness.

Prof Abdul Hannan Chowdhury, vice-chancellor of North South University and chair of the session, said Bangladesh must identify its strategic friends and adversaries and prepare for future warfare shaped by cyber capabilities, drones, robotics and maritime power.

CPS Director Prof M Jashim Uddin moderated the discussion.