Yunus' China overtures sparks unease in India

What added to New Delhi’s concern is his appeal to China to invest to set up manufacturing units in coastal Bangladesh, brushing aside security concerns of India.

New Delhi: Beijing should turn the coastal region of Bangladesh an extension of China’s economy, said Muhammad Yunus, the chief advisor of the interim government in Dhaka, causing unease in New Delhi even as uncertainty looms large over his meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India in Bangkok this week.

Yunus also pointed out that India’s seven northeastern states were all landlocked with no access to the sea and it created an opportunity for China and Bangladesh.

He noted that China should take advantage of Bangladesh’s unique position as the “guardian of the ocean”.

The chief advisor (equivalent to prime minister) of the government of Bangladesh made the comments during his recent visit to China. He met President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Friday and invited China to invest in a river conservation project in Bangladesh but close to the ‘Chicken’s Neck’ corridor – the link between India’s mainland and its seven northeastern States. What added to New Delhi’s concern is his appeal to China to invest to set up manufacturing units in coastal Bangladesh, brushing aside the security concerns of India.

“The seven states of India, the eastern part of India, are called the Seven Sisters. They are a landlocked region of India. They have no way to reach out to the ocean,” Yunus said in a video recorded during his visit to China. The video went viral on X and other social media platforms on Monday.

“We are the only guardian of the ocean for all this region. So, this opens a huge possibility. So, this could be an extension of the Chinese economy. Build things, produce things, market things, bring things to China, bring it out to the whole rest of the world," Yunus said at a roundtable discussion on 'sustainable infrastructure and energy' in Beijing last Friday.

Yunus invited China’s state-owned entities to participate in the comprehensive management and restoration project of Teesta, a transboundary river that flows from India to Bangladesh. Dhaka sought Beijing’s support even as New Delhi had, a few months back, agreed to support the project and send a technical team to study it further.

New Delhi earlier conveyed to Dhaka its concerns over China’s role in the proposed project for conservation and comprehensive management of Teesta, as it would allow the communist country to deploy its personnel so close to the Chicken’s Neck Corridor or Siliguri Corridor – the vital link between seven northeastern states and the mainland of India. 

Yunus also conveyed to Xi that China’s state-owned companies could participate in projects such as the modernization and expansion of Mongla Port facilities in Bangladesh. Dhaka also conveyed its willingness to work with Beijing to promote the construction of the Chittagong China Economic and Industrial Park near the Southeastern Coast of Bangladesh, according to a joint statement issued after the Yunus-Xi meeting.

Dhaka had in 2017 agreed to let New Delhi use the ports in Chittagong and Mongla for the transportation of goods to and from India.

India’s protest against the persecution of Hindus and other minority communities in Bangladesh after the change of government in the neighbouring nation, India’s silence over the request by the interim government of Bangladesh for extradition of Sheikh Hasina or its protest against her virtual addresses delivered from India on recent developments in Bangladesh, including the vandalism and demolition of the historic residence of her father and the founder of the nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, emerged as irritants in the bilateral relations.

New Delhi has been concerned over China’s bid to drag Bangladesh into its orbit of geopolitical influence, including through support for development projects and defence cooperation. Bangladesh bought two submarines from China in 2016. China is also building a submarine base at Pekua in Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh, much to the unease for the security establishment of India.