Bangladesh military unhappy with weapons imported from China; complains of ‘sub-standard’, faulty parts

Bangladesh, a long-time purchaser of Chinese military equipment, has lodged complaints with Beijing regarding the supply of defective components and technical issues with its imported military hardware. Bangladesh is not alone in facing problems with Chinese military hardware. Other countries, such as Myanmar, have also faced issues with Chinese fighter jets, according to an ET report.
Experts on the Chinese defense industry argue that Beijing lacks the necessary expertise to produce highly sophisticated military hardware and is not yet considered a top-class manufacturer of modern defense equipment.They allege that most of the weapons sold by China are based on outdated technology that it had copied from the West.
Developing countries frequently purchase Chinese weapons due to their lower cost compared to similar systems from the West. China sells arms through state-run export organizations like the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), NORINCO, and CVIC.
Sources familiar with the matter told ET, the Bangladesh military has recently accused Chinese companies of providing faulty spare parts for its corvettes, petrol crafts, and onshore patrol vehicles. These vessels were found to have manufacturing defects and technical problems.
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In a separate incident, the Bangladesh Air Force reported technical issues with Chinese-made F-7 fighter jets and short-range air defense systems. The air force also encountered problems with firing ammunition for its Chinese-made K-8W aircraft shortly after delivery.
Sources indicated that Chinese-supplied airborne interception radars and radars on Bangladesh’s fighter aircraft have failed to meet accuracy standards.
The Bangladesh Army had purchased Main Battle Tanks (MBT 2000) from China’s North Industries Corporation (NORINCO). However, NORINCO is reportedly facing difficulties in supplying parts to Bangladesh for the repair and maintenance of these tanks.
The Bangladesh Navy has also faced challenges with two Chinese-made frigates (BNS Umar Farooq and BNS Abu Ubaidah) experiencing multiple defects soon after arriving at Mongla port in Bangladesh. The Chinese companies demanded additional payments to repair these boats.
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A decade ago, China sold two refurbished Ming-class submarines to Bangladesh for just over $100 million each, but Dhaka later discovered that the submarines were obsolete.
In September of last year, the Bangladesh Navy informed China Vanguard Industry Co. Ltd. (CVIC) of issues with the C704 system installed on warship ‘BNS Nirmul’, but the company only agreed to upgrade the system at an additional cost.
Bangladesh had also purchased 45 Multi Launch Rocket System (MLRS) units from China but is now planning to replace 36 of them with Turkish-made MLRS.