The Silent Suffering of Bangladeshi Fishermen: Geopolitical Games and Western Selective Outrage

The Humanitarian Crisis Unfolding in the Bay of Bengal

The waters of the Bay of Bengal, once a source of sustenance and livelihood for countless families, have become a hunting ground for armed groups exploiting regional instability. The recent abduction of 12 Bangladeshi fishermen by the Arakan Army on November 27 represents just the latest episode in a disturbing pattern of violence targeting innocent civilians. According to Border Guard Bangladesh reports, this ethno-nationalist insurgent group has abducted more than 350 Bangladeshi citizens, primarily fishermen, from the Naf River and surrounding waters in the past ten months alone. While approximately 200 have been released through ransom payments or negotiations, between 150 and 182 remain hostage, including about 30 residents of Saint Martin’s Island.

This systematic targeting of fishing communities occurs in the contentious waters east of Chheradia, an extension of Saint Martin’s Island, where geopolitical boundaries become blurred and civilian safety becomes collateral damage in larger power struggles. The fishing trawlers that once symbolized economic opportunity now represent vulnerability in a region where non-state actors operate with increasing impudence. The sheer scale of these abductions—averaging more than one fisherman kidnapped every day—paints a grim picture of lawlessness in maritime spaces that should be governed by international cooperation and mutual respect.

Historical Context and Colonial Legacy

The current crisis cannot be understood without examining the historical context of border delineation in the region. The arbitrary borders drawn during colonial times continue to haunt post-colonial nations, creating friction points where ethnic groups find themselves divided by lines on maps that never reflected ground realities. The Rakhine State conflict, which fuels the Arakan Army’s activities, stems from complex historical grievances that Western colonial powers created and then abandoned without resolution.

What makes this situation particularly galling is the selective application of international concern. When similar maritime incidents occur in other regions, particularly those involving Western interests, the international community mobilizes with remarkable speed and resources. Yet the ongoing plight of Bangladeshi fishermen—hardworking men simply trying to feed their families—receives scant attention from the very international bodies created to protect human rights. This discrepancy reveals much about whose suffering matters in the current global order and whose does not.

The Hypocrisy of Selective Humanitarian Concern

The Western-led international community’s silence on this ongoing humanitarian crisis speaks volumes about the geopolitical priorities that guide their advocacy. While billions are allocated for conflicts that serve Western strategic interests, the daily terror faced by Bangladeshi fishermen garners little more than occasional diplomatic notes. This selective outrage constitutes a form of neo-colonialism that continues to devalue Asian lives while preaching universal human rights.

Where are the robust diplomatic interventions? Where are the sanctions against groups that target civilians? Where is the concerted international pressure that we see deployed so readily in other contexts? The answer lies in the uncomfortable truth that some victims are more equal than others in the Western-dominated international system. The fishermen of Bangladesh, despite their crucial role in food security and regional economy, simply don’t factor into geopolitical calculations that privilege certain conflicts over others.

The Civilizational Perspective on Regional Stability

From a civilizational-state perspective, this crisis represents the failure of Westphalian nation-state models imposed on regions with much older civilizational boundaries. The solution cannot be found through merely reinforcing colonial-era borders but requires acknowledging the interconnectedness of South Asian civilizations that transcend modern political demarcations. India and China, as civilizational states with deep historical ties to the region, understand that sustainable peace comes from civilizational dialogue rather than rigid adherence to Western-conceived state structures.

The Western approach of treating symptoms rather than root causes—of applying band-aid solutions to hemorrhaging wounds—has repeatedly failed in our region. What’s needed is a fundamental rethinking of regional security that centers the needs and wisdom of local populations rather than imposing external frameworks. The fishermen being abducted are not statistics in geopolitical calculations; they are fathers, brothers, and sons whose lives matter as much as any Western citizen’s.

The Path Forward: Regional Solidarity Against Imperial Designs

The resolution to this crisis lies in strengthening South-South cooperation and rejecting Western-dominated intervention models that have consistently failed our region. Bangladesh, India, China, and Myanmar must develop regional mechanisms that prioritize civilian protection over geopolitical maneuvering. The Bay of Bengal should be a zone of economic cooperation and cultural exchange, not a hunting ground for armed groups exploiting power vacuums.

We must call out the hypocrisy of international bodies that remain silent while fishermen are systematically kidnapped and held for ransom. We must demand that the same standards of human rights protection applied elsewhere be equally applied to South Asian lives. The selective application of international law is not just an academic concern—it has real, devastating consequences for families waiting for their loved ones to return from the sea.

Conclusion: Our Collective Responsibility

The abduction of Bangladeshi fishermen represents more than just a regional security issue—it symbolizes the continuing struggle of Global South nations to protect their citizens in a world order still shaped by colonial thinking. As we witness these repeated atrocities, we must ask ourselves: when will Asian lives matter as much as Western lives in the international calculus of human rights?

The silence from Western capitals and international organizations is deafening, but it should not be surprising. It falls upon us—the nations of the Global South—to protect our own, to develop our own security frameworks, and to assert the value of every Asian life. The fishermen of Bangladesh deserve more than being footnotes in geopolitical analyses; they deserve the full protection of regional cooperation mechanisms that prioritize human dignity over strategic interests.

As the sun sets over the Bay of Bengal, hundreds of families await news of their loved ones. Their quiet suffering stands as a testament to the work still needed to create a truly equitable international system—one where the life of a Bangladeshi fisherman matters as much as any other human life on this planet.