Beijing raised idea of a Pakistan-China-Bangladesh bloc with Dhaka 5 times: ‘He listened and smiled’

China’s efforts to lure Bangladesh into joining the China-Pakistan alliance continue despite Dhaka’s public statement denying plans to join or form any alliance with these countries. An instance of Beijing’s pressure tactics has been highlighted in a report, which recalled how Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi kept pushing Bangladesh’s Foreign Affairs Adviser Touhid Hossain to join the alliance during their recent meeting in Kuala Lumpur.

An analytical piece that appeared in Dhaka-based Prothom Alo sheds light on the incident that happened during the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) Ministerial Meeting in Kuala Lumpur on July 11. During a break, Wang met with Hossain for bilateral discussions. While mentioning international topics, Wang Yi mentioned the Kunming meeting, where representatives from Bangladesh, China, and Pakistan held an informal trilateral meeting on the sidelines of the China-South Asia Exposition and the China-South Asia Cooperation Forum.

Wang Yi raised the formation of the Pakistan-China-Bangladesh triangle again, suggesting that Bangladesh play an active role in the initiative. Despite Wang’s exhortations, Touhid did not express any opinion. “He listened attentively and smiled,” Prothom Alo's report quoted unnamed diplomatic sources.

Hossain also confirmed that China raised the trilateral initiative during his meetings. He said that Bangladesh will not join such a trilateral initiative at this time.

This is not the first or second time that Beijing has raised the issue. Since the Kunming meeting, China has raised the issue of advancing the trilateral initiative with Bangladesh at least five times.

Bangladesh’s interim government has rejected the idea. The interim government doesn’t want to take steps that “may cause suspicion among different countries in the regional and international arena”, the Prothom Alo report said, without taking India’s name.

Bangladesh also eyes China’s motives with suspicion. Though Beijing claims the trilateral initiative aims at regional cooperation, it has not included Nepal and Sri Lanka. The report claims that Dhaka raised this question with China, but Beijing is yet to clarify whether it planned to invited these two South Asian countries to join the initiative.

Another reason is Bangladesh’s relations with Pakistan, which have begun to normalise after being stagnant for a decade and a half. The interim government believes that there are serious historical and political issues that need to be resolved, and it is the job of an elected government to make serious policy decisions.  

 

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