Will Bangladesh veer from its India-China middle path?

When a Bangladesh air force jet slammed into a school on July 21, killing 31 people, India was the first country to respond – dispatching a team of specialist doctors, nurses and emergency medical equipment.

Their swift arrival earned public praise from the head of Bangladesh’s interim government, Muhammad Yunus, and sparked cautious optimism that a thaw may be possible after months of strained ties between the neighbours.

“These teams have come not just with their skills, but with their hearts,” Yunus said. “Their presence reaffirms our shared humanity and the value of global partnerships in times of tragedy.”

The gesture was widely seen as a reaffirmation of the enduring ties between India and Bangladesh – ties that have frayed in recent months amid shifting political winds in Dhaka and rising Indian unease over the interim government’s perceived tilt towards China.

Since the ousting of long-time leader Sheikh Hasina in a student-led uprising in August last year, the Yunus administration has sought to recalibrate its foreign relations, prompting speculation over Beijing’s growing influence just across India’s eastern border.

  

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