Is India’s regional clout waning over Bangladesh cosying up to China?

As Bangladesh continues to strengthen its ties with China and Pakistan, India risks being shut out from wielding any influence on Dhaka and the broader South Asian region.

Since the downfall of Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina last year, China has held several talks with Bangladesh’s interim government, led by Nobel Prize winner Muhammad Yunus. In contrast, contacts between India and Bangladesh were put on the back burner amid tensions between two neighbours that previously enjoyed a close partnership under the Hasina regime, analysts said.

Bilateral ties have worsened in recent months over New Delhi’s decision to grant shelter to Hasina, its inertia over Dhaka’s request to extradite the former prime minister and reports of mounting violence against Hindus in Bangladesh.

“The fact that the interim government is cosying up to countries with which India has historically had difficult relations – not only China but also Pakistan – has deepened mutual suspicions,” said Chietigj Bajpaee, a senior research fellow at the London-based policy think tank Chatham House’s Asia-Pacific programme.

Last month, Md Touhid Hossain, Bangladeshi foreign affairs adviser, met his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Beijing.

“China supports Bangladesh in safeguarding its national independence, sovereignty and national dignity, exploring a development path that suits its national conditions, respects the choice of the Bangladeshi people, and is willing to continue to provide assistance for Bangladesh’s economic and social development,” Wang Yi told Touhid Hossain, according to a report by the Deccan Herald.