Kathmandu – Bangladeshi Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s three days visit to China has added to India’s strategic concerns after Dhaka signed an agreement allowing a Chinese state-owned company to develop a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) near Mongla Port, a project that had previously been allocated to India.
The agreement was signed during Rahman’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Friday. Following the cancellation of the original plan by Bangladesh’s previous government, the project has now been handed to China, this move will strengthen Beijing’s presence in the Bay of Bengal and the wider Indian Ocean region.
China already has strategic influence through Pakistan’s Gwadar Port and Sri Lanka’s Hambantota Port. With the Mongla project, analysts believe Beijing is further expanding its regional footprint around India.
During the visit, Xi reaffirmed China’s commitment to advancing the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and pledged support for Bangladesh’s new government. China also expressed support for the Teesta River Management and Restoration Project which the previous Bangladeshi government had earlier considered assigning to India.
Beijing additionally proposed an economic corridor linking Bangladesh to China through Myanmar to boost regional connectivity and trade.
Some analysts, however believe the proposal could also help China expand its strategic influence while bypassing India.
Meanwhile, India is also closely watching the growing defence relationship between Russia and Pakistan. The two countries recently held their 11th Joint Working Group meeting on counter-terrorism in Islamabad, where they agreed to strengthen security cooperation and military collaboration.
Analysts say these parallel developments are adding to New Delhi’s strategic challenges across the region.
