Bangladesh
China-Bangladesh | India China to take advantage of US pressure on Bangladesh, India tensed
Own correspondent, Dhaka, 29 August 2023: The United States wants to see the next elections in Bangladesh free, fair and peaceful. For this purpose, the country has threatened to impose visa restrictions against the accused persons and their family members if the elections are obstructed. In this situation, China can take advantage of the situation caused by US pressure in Bangladesh. And India's concern about this has increased. The Hindustan Times claimed this in a report on Tuesday (August 29).
The report claims that India has "told the US" that US pressure on the Bangladesh government over the upcoming general elections could strengthen the hand of "extremist forces" and undermine regional stability. The media claimed that some people who know about the matter have given this information.
Hindustan Times said, on condition of anonymity, that the Indian side had conveyed its concerns to the US during several recent talks.
New Delhi believes that US pressure for free and fair elections could 'push Bangladesh closer to China'. And if so, it can affect the region, they claimed.
According to the report, although the Indian side has made it clear that they too want to see a free and fair election in Bangladesh, they have told the US leadership that pushing too hard on the issue will only encourage extremist and fundamentalist forces opposed to the Sheikh Hasina government.
In December 2021, the United States imposed sanctions on Bangladesh's paramilitary Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and several senior RAB officials.
In addition, in May this year, the global embargo threatened to impose visa bans on Bangladeshi nationals if they were involved in activities that undermined the electoral process.
According to Hindustan Times, Chinese President Xi Jinping met Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on the sidelines of the BRICS conference in Johannesburg, South Africa on August 23. After Xi Jinping's comments in that meeting, India's concern about China taking advantage of the situation in Bangladesh due to US pressure has increased. In that meeting that day, Xi Jinping said that China opposes foreign interference in Bangladesh and Beijing will work with Dhaka to support each other in their core interests.
On the other hand, Sheikh Hasina said in the meeting that Bangladesh-China relations are based on the principle of 'mutual respect and non-interference in each other's internal affairs'.
