World News | Caught between US, China, Bangladesh seeks strategic alliance with country: Report

Dhaka [Bangladesh]Jan 20 (ANI): Bangladesh is caught between China and the US as both sides want a strategic alliance with the country amid their dispute over superpower status in the region, Bangladesh Live News reported.

The United States worries that recent tensions with Bangladesh could turn into an opportunity for China to get closer.

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Recently, China’s new foreign minister, Qin Gang, stopped at the airport of Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, on his way to visit Africa. He made his first stopover in Dhaka to make an important foreign policy point. His visit coincides with that of Maj. Gen. Erin Laubach, senior director for South Asia at the National Security Council.

Recently, Bangladesh Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen said: “Bangladesh hopes to maintain good relations with the United States and China. This is a challenging thing.”

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Bangladesh’s relationship with Washington has been troubled since December 2021, after the US announced sanctions on the Rapid Action Battalion, Bangladesh’s elite security force, for alleged human rights violations such as enforced disappearances.

Relations between the two countries have deteriorated further in 2022 after the U.S. called on Bangladesh to ensure free and fair upcoming elections. Momen said his country does not need the democratic lessons of other countries.

However, Dhaka also has tense relations with Beijing.

In May 2021, China’s ambassador to Bangladesh said relations between the two countries could be “substantially damaged” if the South Asian country joined any initiative launched by the Washington-led quadrilateral alliance, Bangladesh Live News reported.

The Bangladesh Live News report also said that China’s special envoy Li Jiming warned Bangladesh at a meeting organized by the Diplomatic Correspondents’ Association on May 12, 2021: “Obviously, it is not a good idea for Bangladesh to join this small club of four, because it will Seriously damage our bilateral relationship.”

Bangladesh responded that it is a sovereign state that will make its own decisions on the country’s foreign policy.

Later, however, Momin assured China of Bangladesh’s neutral stance in the geopolitical rivalry between Beijing and Washington. ‘We maintain a balanced foreign policy. This is our principle. We will provide you with support from time to time. The US and China may have problems of their own. That’s their headache, not ours. We hope to have a good relationship with both,” Momen said. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)