PM Sheikh Hasina To Visit India In July Before Embarking on China Trip?

PM Sheikh Hasina.

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is expected to visit India early July to apprise the new government in New Delhi of her next trip to China, which will also take place the same month. This comes as India remains concerned over growing bilateral ties between Dhaka and Beijing, especially in the defence sector, with Chinese weaponry fast becoming the mainstay of the Bangladesh armed forces, reports ABP live, a Delhi-based outlet.

‘Hasina, who is likely to become the first world leader to undertake a trip to India for a bilateral meeting with the newly elected Prime Minister, is also expected to discuss the growing Chinese footprints in Bangladesh’s strategic sphere as New Delhi’s “concerns have soared” ever since the $1.2 billion ‘BNS Sheikh Hasina’ submarine base – Bangladesh’s first, built with Chinese help - got commissioned at Pekua in Cox’s Bazar district of Chittagong last year, high-level sources told ABP LIVE.

Bangladesh has drawn up an ambitious plan to enhance its defence capabilities as it aggressively implements ‘Forces Goal-2030’ - the country’s flagship defence policy unveiled in 2009. The submarine base will station Dhaka’s two submarines - BNS Navajatra and BNS Joyjatra – that were also procured from Beijing in 2017.

‘According to the sources, India has been closely watching the developments and believes that every country has their own sovereign right to have an independent defence and foreign policies. However, with growing bonhomie between the armed forces of Bangladesh and China, Dhaka is bringing the Chinese forces in close proximity to India, almost touching the country’s exclusive economic zone.

‘Bangladesh government sources said PM Hasina wants to be the first leader to hold a bilateral meeting with the new PM of India, and discuss how the “Bangladesh government will continue to maintain a strategic balance between India and China, which is crucial for the peace and prosperity of the Bay of Bengal”.

‘Hasina had last visited India in September 2023 as Bangladesh was invited for the G-20 Summit, chaired by India, as a guest country. During the visit, Bangladesh had pushed for launching the negotiations for a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with India, covering trade in goods and services, and investment.

‘Pinak Ranjan Chakravarty, former Indian High Commissioner to Dhaka and author of ‘Transformation: Emergence of Bangladesh and Evolution of India-Bangladesh Ties’, told ABP LIVE, “India never had any issues with leaders of one country visiting another country. We are well aware of the fact that China is an important development partner of Bangladesh.

‘“But the question is, to what extent will this relationship evolve? Is it going to be like China and Pakistan? We do not know. Maybe it won’t. But we have to be careful.”

‘During PM Hasina’s visit to India, both sides may also discuss the export of Indian weaponry to Bangladesh as Dhaka has expressed interest in procuring military hardware from New Delhi. India is keen to sell fighter jets and helicopters to Bangladesh and initial talks on such a move have already taken place, sources added.

‘“They want to balance the two, and take one hand from India and one from China. On the defence side, about 70% of their weaponry is of Chinese origin, and that’s how the Chinese have entered that country even though Beijing didn’t recognise them till 1976,” said Chakravarty, who also served as Secretary (Economic Relations) at the Ministry of External Affairs.

‘“What will PM Hasina do if the Chinese do a port call on the submarine base? That will bring the Chinese submarines perilously close to our waters,” he said.

Teesta Issue Remains Thorny

‘Despite thriving bilateral ties between India and Bangladesh that reached their peak in 2015 with the signing of the Land Boundary Agreement, the matter concerning the Teesta river water dispute remains unresolved.

‘India and Bangladesh share 54 transboundary rivers, one of which is the Teesta, the fourth largest of these. It is a tributary of the Brahmaputra, which flows through Sikkim and West Bengal before entering Bangladesh. Under an agreement finalised in 2011 between both sides, India would get 42.5% and Bangladesh around 37.5% of Teesta’s waters during the dry season.

'However, the treaty continues to remain in limbo due to stiff opposition from the West Bengal government under Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Water is a state subject in India.

In 2022, China offered to build a mega project on the Teesta river by way of dredging and managing the river basin so that Bangladesh can obtain its water for storage during the dry season.

‘“The Teesta project is the real problematic part between India, Bangladesh and China,” said Chakravarty. “If China gets involved in the Teesta project, then we will have a real problem as that will bring Chinese workers close to the sensitive Siliguri Corridor and they can do all sorts of activities there, from planting devices to keeping an eye on the strategic side of India.”

In 2016, China President Xi Jinping heralded a new chapter in bilateral ties when he undertook a visit to Dhaka – the first visit by a Chinese head of state to Bangladesh in 30 years,’ the ABP online added.