A 'man of war' (warship) is seen as national visibility at sea. Historically, navies have been regarded as a symbol of national sovereignly power and an instrument of foreign policy. The Navy serves as a diplomatic element in overcoming conflicting situations and/or building strategic alliances. The BN started its first flag-showing mission in 1976 when three Large Patrol Crafts visited Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore. The goodwill visits are now conducted regularly. On the other hand, it first received a counterpart when a French Navy ship visited Chattogram in 1975. Until now, over 140 ships from different friendly nations have paid goodwill visits to Bangladesh.
With limited resources, the BN has pursued multinational engagements over the years. It has now become a part of some regional and global maritime security apparatuses, including the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) and the Western Pacific Naval Symposium (WPNS). Formed in 2008, IONS has now emerged as one of the largest alliances of navies in the world. Being an active member of this maritime security initiative, BN top high officials regularly join in the biennial conference with Heads of other friendly navies and Maritime Security Agencies to charter future courses of action towards a secured maritime environment.
The spirit of cooperation among the navies is further exhibited through their involvement in different International Fleet Reviews and naval exercises. Currently, the BN regularly participates in multinational exercises conducted by various global navies. Its growing capability was demonstrated by arranging the First-ever Fleet Review with 28 warships from Bangladesh and four friendly navies. Bangladesh, being the Chair of the IONS for 2016-18, conducted the maiden sea exercise in the Bay of Bengal off Cox's Bazar in 2017, known as IMMSAREX (IONS Multilateral Maritime Search and Rescue Exercise), where a total of 40 2nips, including eight foreign Navy ships and a delegation from 20 friendly Nations joined the exercise, The BN also organized its first bilateral exercise with the Indian Navy, known as Coordinated Patrol (CORPAT), in Chattogram in 2018. SEACAT is a collaborative military exercise involving Southeast Asian nations. Its primary objective is to enhance cooperation in maritime security by developing standardized approaches to address crises, emergencies, and illegal activities. Since 2015, the Bangladesh Navy has been participating in SEACAT. A total of 18 Bangladeshi officers have participated in the exercise to date
First ever International Fleet Review (IFR) was organized by BN on 6-9 December 2022 at Inani, Cox's Bazar, where eight foreign ships from six countries (US, China and four BoB littorals, India, Thailand, Myanmar, and Malaysia) participated, and 77 delegates from 27 countries remained present. It was an excellent opportunity for Bangladesh and BN, in particular, to interact with world navies in Bangladeshi waters, exert naval diplomacy, and promote tourism, socio-economic development, and infrastructure development in the coastal areas.
The Navy has always been quick and responsive in assisting disaster victims. It has already conducted numerous HADR missions, including helping Sri Lanka and the Maldives during the tsunami of 2005, the Philippines during the typhoon of 2013, the Maldives during the 2015 water crisis, and Sri Lanka during the 2016 floods. In search of the missing Malaysian Flight MH 370 in 2014, the BN deployed three frigates and one MPA, demonstrating its global commitment to cooperation and peace.
