Why was Bangladesh ‘warned’ by China against joining the Quad?

The remarks came as a surprise given Dhaka’s status as a small player in Indo-Pacific security

But observers say the warning relates to the strategic contest between Beijing and New Delhi for influence in South Asia

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The Hambantota port in Sri Lanka. Photo: AFP

Published: 9:00pm, 13 May 2021Updated: 10:22pm, 13 May 2021

To analysts on South Asia, China’s warning to Bangladesh earlier this week against joining the four-member Quad alliance was surprising because Dhaka could hardly be considered a consequential player in Indo-Pacific security.

Kanwal Sibal, who served for 36 years in India’s foreign service, said Bangladesh had no worthwhile navy and would not be able to contribute to maritime security. He had not heard of any talk that Bangladesh had been invited to join the Quad, he said.

The Quad, comprising the United States, India, Australia and Japan, has pledged closer cooperation on maritime, cyber and economic security amid China’s rising influence in the region. Beijing has cast it as a “clique” that could start a new Cold War and has been increasingly concerned about the grouping’s expansion to include other countries.

Thus, Sibal surmised, the comments were to “warn Bangladesh not to draw too close to India at China’s cost, including in connectivity projects eastwards along with India and Japan”.

Ali Riaz, Distinguished Professor of Political Science at Illinois State University, referred to signals from the US last year when then Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun visited Dhaka and highlighted Bangladesh’s importance to Washington’s Indo-Pacific strategy.

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