Why India Should Be Wary of Strategic Drift in Bangladesh's Power Corridors?

Bangladesh's growing ties with China and Pakistan, political crackdowns, and strategic reorientation away from India signal a potential shift in South Asia's balance—prompting New Delhi to tread carefully and stay alert.

- TDG NETWORK

The trilateral dialogue between China, Pakistan, and Bangladesh in Kunming, Yunnan, emerged as a symbolic inflection point—signalling subtle shifts in the region's strategic alignments.

The meeting, which was conducted last week and brought together Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong, Bangladesh's Acting Foreign Secretary Ruhul Alam Siddique, and Pakistan's Additional Foreign Secretary Imran Ahmed Siddiqui, highlighted Beijing's ambitions to recalibrate South Asia's geopolitical architecture and hinted at its growing efforts to draw Dhaka closer into its expanding sphere of influence.

Interestingly, Bangladesh's response was marked by restraint. It notably withheld full endorsement of the proposed Joint Working Group (JWG), which was intended to operationalise a broader trilateral agenda. Citing the need for further high-level consultations, Dhaka expressed reservations about the wide-ranging scope of the initiative—reflecting a measured caution rather than outright opposition.

Amid the backdrop of increasingly strained ties between India and Bangladesh over the past year—exacerbated by the political transition in Dhaka—there has been mounting media speculation that the trilateral meeting was a calculated move to diplomatically sideline India. On June 26, Foreign Affairs Adviser Md Touhid Hossain clarified Bangladesh's position, categorically ruling out the formation of any new alliance with China and Pakistan.