Bangladesh
Quad Bangladesh is at the peak of discussions on Quad issue
Dhaka, May 15: In the last few days, discussions have been going on around Bangladesh in the wake of China's covert threat to join the Quad, an alliance of the United States, Japan, Australia and India, and the United States' comments on it. Besides the four countries in the alliance, China is also looking at the official position of Bangladesh. However, Bangladesh has taken a strategic position in this regard from the very beginning.
Last month, the Chinese defense minister visited Dhaka and first briefed President Abdul Hamid on the issue. Then last week, after the aggressive remarks of the country's ambassador, the discussion on the quad issue came to a head. The United States has said it is monitoring the situation following remarks made by the Chinese ambassador. Meanwhile, the United States has also commented in support of Bangladesh.
The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue was launched in 2007 between the United States, Japan, Australia and India, arguing for ways to keep shipping in India and the Pacific "free and independent."
According to foreign ministry sources, China officially informed Bangladesh of its concerns over the Quad issue last month. In the interest of continuing the peaceful development of South Asia, they want to side with Bangladesh against such a 'military alliance' of outside forces. However, Bangladesh has not yet commented on China's proposal. Later, during his visit to Dhaka, Chinese Defense Minister General Wei Fenghi paid a courtesy call on President Abdul Hamid and expressed Beijing's uneasiness over the Quad. At the same time, he hoped that the two countries would work together so that the Quad could not dominate the region.According to ministry sources, Bangladesh did not formally announce anything during the meeting of the Chinese Defense Minister with the President.
On the night of April 27, China's state news agency Xinhua published a report titled "Bangladesh, China agree to increase military cooperation." It said "joint efforts should be made by the two sides to prevent the formation and domination of any outside power in South Asia and to promote regional peace and stability."
However, the issue came up for public discussion after a recent remark by Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Li Jiming. He warned Bangladesh that "joining the quad could ruin China's bilateral relations with Bangladesh."
