OPINION: Beijing - Dhaka Bonhomie : New Delhi Must Be Cautious

India's bond with Bangladesh is too strong to be hurt by the latter's growing bonhomie with Beijing . Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hasina know the destinies of their democratic nations are aligned with each other . However, New Delhi must remain cautious about Beijing's designs against it through Dhaka.

Since January this year, when Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang and Deputy Head of the International Department of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee Chen Zhou visited Bangladesh , there has been an added speculation in a section of public opinion that China may use its growing ties with Bangladesh to the detriment of India . One finds India needs to remain cautious .

Observers says that ever since the establishment of diplomatic ties between Bangladesh and China in 1976 , there has been a remarkable improvement in their bilateral relations . China today is Bangladesh's biggest trading partner with bilateral trade worth $10 billion . It has removed tariff barriers to 84 types of commodities imported from Bangladesh. Bangladesh utilises its imports from China to convert them into value-added products.

China has offered to construct nuclear power plants in Bangladesh . It also seeks to aid the development of Bangladesh's natural gas resources. Bangladesh is one of the largest recipients of China's Belt and Road initiative (BRI). During the Covid-19 pandemic, China and Bangladesh fought against the pandemic side by side.

The Chinese loans focus on supporting the development of Bangladesh's infrastructure and supporting industries, such as the Dasherkandi STP Project, the Info-Sarker-Phase-3 Project, and the Multi Lanes Tunnel under Karnaphuli River project.

China-Bangladesh ties have tuned very strong in the field of defence also. In December 2002, the two nations signed a Defence Cooperation Agreement. Today China is the biggest arms supplier to Bangladesh. Bangladesh defence forces are equipped with Chinese arms, including tanks, missile launchers, fighter aircraft and several weapons systems. China provides training to officers of the Bangladesh army. In 2016 , China supplied two 056 corvettes, BNS Shadhinota and BNS Prottoy to Bangladesh. Recently, Bangladesh Prime Minister Hasina inaugurated the China-built $1.2 billion six-slot submarine base, named BNS Sheikh Hasina, at Pekua in Cox's Bazar.

The observers say the bond between India and Bangladesh is too strong to be hurt by the growing bonhomie between Dhaka and Beijing. India, under then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, was the first country to recognize the sovereignty of Bangladesh and establish diplomatic ties with it in 1971. India helped Bangladesh emerge independent from the oppressive rule of Pakistan over it .

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hasina know the destinies of their democratic nations are aligned with each other . In 2014, Prime Minister Modi's "Neighbourhood First" policy shifted Indian foreign policy's focus towards its neighbours, including Bangladesh. Afterwards, New Delhi and Dhaka signed the famous Land Boundary Agreement (LBA). In April 2017, India ( and Russia) signed a civil nuclear tripartite pact with Bangladesh.

Consciously, Bangladesh may not even conceive of doing anything harmful to India. Dhaka has been helpful to New Delhi in uprooting Northeast separatist movements against India . Dhaka has seen to it that Beijing does not do anything though it that New Delhi perceives as detrimental to India's security. In February 2016, Dhaka cancelled China's plan to build and operate a deep-sea port at Sonadia, for New Delhi did not like it.

Pertinently, Dhaka has been sensitive to its own sovereignty and foreign policy independence . In a recent media interview, Bangladesh Prime Minister Hasina said , "We're very much careful about taking loans - mostly we take loans from institutions like the World Bank and Asian Development Bank. From China, our loan is very low. It is not like Sri Lanka or anybody... " Today both Prime Minister Hasina and her Foreign Minister Abul Kalam Abdul Momen say China is a friendly country and development partner of Bangladesh, but there is no possibility that Bangladesh would ever fall into any "Chinese debt trap."

The policy makers in Dhaka must be aware that China played a very negative role during the war for Bangla independence . During the period , China happened to a key ally of Pakistan. As a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, China used its first veto to support Pakistan during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. It vetoed Bangladesh's UN membership until 1974.

However, the observers warn, New Delhi would better remain cautious about Beijing's expansionist designs against India . The China-built ,six-slot submarine base in Cox's Bazar is right on the mouth of the Bay of Bengal. From here China's People's Liberation Army Navy's submarines could be dangerously close to the Indian Navy's Andaman and Nicobar Command.

(Jagdish N. Singh is a senior journalist based in New Delhi. He is also Senior Distinguished Fellow at the Gatestone Institute, New York)

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of OneIndia and OneIndia does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.