Following the fact that Southeast Asia has not successively taken sides in the "anti-China" of the United States, India's "staunchest ally" has recently stated that it will not choose a side between India and China.
Bangladeshi Prime Minister: There will be no interference in the issue between China and India
Bangladeshi Prime Minister Hasina, who is about to visit India, said in an interview that "there will be no interference in the issue between China and India", and she also pointed out that Bangladesh's current priority is development and is willing to accept help from any country that can bring well-being to its people.
Bangladeshi Prime Minister Hasina: We will not meddle in the issue between China and India
Asked how to balance relations with China and India, she said Bangladesh's foreign policy is to be "friendly to all countries and not malicious to any country." That said, Bangladesh will maintain good bilateral relations with China and India at the same time. At the same time, she also called on China and India to resolve disputes and differences through dialogue.
Hasina stressed that bangladesh currently has only one common enemy – poverty. So she believes that Bangladesh should spend more energy on its own people, how to make them live a better life, how to improve their living conditions and everything that can benefit their people.
Bangladesh has long been seen as India's "strongest ally" in the surrounding region, and consolidating india-Bangladesh bilateral relations has also helped protect India's strategic interests. In order to avoid the so-called "strategic challenges" that China's Belt and Road Initiative brings to India, India must also strengthen its connectivity with Bangladesh.
Bangladesh is India's "strongest ally" in the surrounding region
What is Bangladesh's strength as India's "most solid ally"?
First, Bangladesh has irreplaceable geopolitical importance for India's unity. Due to its special geographical location, as long as India cannot annex or dismember the country, it must stabilize its relations with Bangladesh and avoid it becoming a patron of separatist forces, in fact, Bangladesh, a country with a population of nearly 200 million, is not something that India can easily shake.
Second, under the combined impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, countries in South Asia have been plunged into different degrees of development crises, accompanied by political crises and social unrest. However, Bangladesh is carrying out foreign economic and trade cooperation in an orderly manner, not only expanding exports to attract foreign investment, but also seizing the opportunity of India's development of the eastern economy and taking the opportunity to attract the attention of the Indian side to develop its own interconnection construction.
Finally, Bangladesh's GDP per capita is higher than that of India. According to relevant data, in 2020, Bangladesh's per capita GDP is 1888 US dollars, while India's is 1877 US dollars, surpassing India with a small advantage.
In summary, Bangladesh has enough courage to reject India's coercion and take the road of independence and autonomy, and no one can be guilty.
Bangladesh's GDP per capita is higher than India's
Bangladesh is an ally of India, but it also has good relations with China
Bangladesh's geographical advantages are significant, with its land bordering India on three sides to the north, east and west, the Bay of Bengal to the south, and Myanmar to the southeast. As a country along the Indian Ocean and a bridge country connecting South Asia and Southeast Asia, Bangladesh has also been relying on the "link role" for its own development.
Ahead of the upcoming bangladeshi national elections, Hasina's visit to India aims to bring back "substantive results" from India in the economic and political spheres. India also hopes to take this opportunity to gain greater support from the Bangladeshi side in clearing out the "rebels" in northeast India.
Although Bangladesh is not "pro-China", it has close economic ties with China. It is a participant in the Belt and Road Initiative, and with china's help, the country has made remarkable progress in its economic and social development. Earlier, the Bangladeshi ambassador to China had bluntly said that the "Belt and Road" was not imposed by China on Bangladesh, and the country has always taken a positive attitude towards it. In addition, in order to alleviate the problem of the trade deficit between China and Bangladesh, China has even given the Bangladesh side zero tariff treatment of 97% of the tariff items.
Therefore, the above important statement made before Hasina's visit to India is obviously to "set aside relations" in advance - visiting India does not mean supporting India on the Sino-Indian issue.
Bangladesh has close economic ties with China
"Remaining neutral" is the wisdom of small countries to survive
Bangladesh, as a champion of multilateralism, is trying to use its geopolitical advantages to promote "balanced diplomacy" among major powers in order to maximize national interests.
For small countries, "remaining neutral" is the great wisdom to survive better in this chaotic world. Earlier, former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad urged "ASEAN to move closer to China" and not to get involved in the Sino-US conflict; Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong also said he was "unwilling to be involved in the (U.S.-China) conflict"; Including Hungary and Serbia, because they do not follow the EU sanctions on Russian energy, they do not have to suffer from "gas restrictions".
All of this suggests that times have changed, that neither regional or global hegemony has been so bright, and that China offers an additional option for countries that lack capital and technology. More countries can choose partners freely and develop more rapidly without being coerced by the economy of regional or global powers, which is a more beneficial thing for people around the world.
Text: Rice grain Review: Uncle Cat