India watching closely as China uses pandemic for building strategic relationship with Bangladesh

By Gautam Lahiri

June 22, 2020

New Delhi: As suddenly China has stepped up its engagement with India’s trusted neighbour Bangladesh, South Block has started watching closely the developments in Dhaka following the outbreak of Corona pandemonic .

South Block is also miffed with the news that Chinese medical experts were warmly welcomed by Dhaka while the request from India was not responded to. Moreover,  it was surprised to see that proper acknoledgement was not coming from Dhaka when India had gone out of the way to supply 21 rakes of paddy seeds through rail route as roads were closed due to lockdown in West Bengal.

Though Dhaka is downplaying China’s recent outreach by granting tariff exemtion of 97 percent export from Bangladesh, India is slightly surprised over the timing of the decesion. To give a boost to Bangladeshi small and medium industry which is facing huge economic crisis triggered by the pandemic Covid-19, Beijing’s gesture was hugely welcomed by Dhaka. Exporters and Diplomatic community have described Chinese move as huge success of Beijing-Dhaka relationship. Diplomatic sources in Dhaka maintain that India-Bangladesh relation is stand alone and exemplenary in nature which is rooted in shared history and culture and not dependent on relation with a third country.

India is, however,  relieved to see that Bangladesh has not joined the recently held meeting on OBOR convened by China through video conference where Pakistan was present. At the same time South Block is also analysising comments of Chinese Ambassador in Bangladesh Li Jimming’s speech at the welcome function of Chinese medical team in early june.

The Cinese Ambassador said that recent conversations betweeen Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and President Xi “is of high significance as it laid down the guidelines to advance joint response in curbing the corona virus as well as strengthening the two countries’ strategic partnership and coperation in a post Covid-19 era.” Both the leaders had a telephonic conversation on May 2—5 days before Prime Minister Narendra Modi talked to Hasina.

New Delhi is already facing a hostility on its eastern border from China, and in recent days Communist party-ruled Nepal has also shown cold shoulder to India, ignoring its objections to redrawing the map of their country by including Indian territory which was strongly objected to by the External Affairs Ministry.

According to sources, South Block has of late started feeling that China is gradually started proactive engagement and is getting support from an influential section of Bangladesh establishments.

Following outbreak of Corona pandemic, India has sent two tranches of emergency medical supply consisting of 1 lakh hydroxychloroquine tablets and 50 thousansds sterile surgical latex gloves and the first tranche of emergency medical assistance containing 30,000 surgical masks and 15thousand head cover to Bangladesh. High commissioner of India Riva Das Ganguly handed over all those medical assistance to the Foreign Minister Dr. A.K.Abdul Momen .

Apart from sending medical assistance, India had sent 14 member rapid response team to Maldives too to set up testing laboratories and train local medical practioners to fight the pandemic.Prime Minister Modi in fact called twice Md Hasina and discussed about the cooperation on combating pandemic.Its true that Hasina thanked Modi on both occassion for supplying medical assistance . First telephonic conversation was on April 29 and the last one on May 25. Modi telephoned her to convey Eid-Ul-Fitr greetings and on that occassion he did reieterate India’s commitment to help out Bangladesh to cobat Corona pandemic.

On June 7, a special flight arranged by Hainan Airlines, carrying ten Chinese medical experts of Peoples Liberation Army landed at Shahjalal International Airport in the morning. It was claimed that the team had first hand experience of contatining the virus and treating its patients with “remarkable” success.
Showing a rare gesture, Bangladesh Foreign Minister Dr A.K.Abdul Momen went to receive the medical team himself. Justifying the visit of Chinese medical team, the Foreign Minister said that all the countries of the world will have to work together to face Covid-19 pandemic, as it is a global issue and cannort be managed by one or two countries.

He also complimented China for what he called its strategy and successs in controlling pandemic, which other countries were following.

But what happened in Galwan valley recently has created a sense of insecurity among the Bangladeshi people. An organisation namely Bangladesh concious citizen committee (sachetan nagarik committee) comprising of a section of Muktijodhhas held a demonostration on Saturday in front of Jatyio Press Club(national press club of Bangladesh) in Dhaka and shouted slogans against Chinese incursion into India .
They raised the slogans– “down with Chinese territorial agression”, “we dont need Chinese medical team “, ‘China-Pakistan alliance supports terrorists and fundamentalists.

The demonstrators also condemned Chinese atrocities against Muslim population in Uigur area within China. The banners they held said ,”long live India-Bangladesh freindship.’ Some of the protestors were former diplomats and journalists.

Though India-Bangladesh relation is documented as beyond strategic partnership which has solid foundations of people to people relationship, but it is also a fact that this relationship has of late lost its flavour due to some developments in India’s domestic politics.

However, recently a section of people have got together to revive the spirit of liberation struggle.

—-India News Stream