COVER STORY
Equidistance policy of Bangladesh between
India and China
Barrister Harun ur Rashid*
The
series
of
geopolitical
developments in the Asia-Pacific
region taking place all at once is
certainly overwhelming: We live in
an era of change due to the ongoing
power shift and power diffusion.
Bangladesh is a nation of strategic
importance not only to South Asian
region but to the larger geo-political
dynamics of Asia as a whole.
Currently we live in a non-polar
world and the balance of power is
Bangladesh is ideally located in a
region
which
has
assumed
importance for India, China and US.
Bangladesh shares borders with India
1
going through an evolution period.
For example, recent Obama
administration‘s policy towards Iran
and Syria annoyed Saudi Arabia and
other Arab States. Turkey‘s recent
decision to buy Chinese weapons is
seen as a new element in its security
policy. Russia and Japan agreed to
expand defence ties in the context of
China‘s increasing military powers.
Page
It is wrong to suggest that
Bangladesh has to choose between
India and China. Bangladesh can
have friendly with both. It is desirable
that Bangladesh would not align itself
to one country as a way to
antagonise another and the relations
must be rightly balanced between the
two nations, which are often found to
be difficult.