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angladesh at Cross Road ------- Amin Ahmad Chaudhury

Bangladesh, though a small country, possesses a decisive strategic location and importantmultidimensional existence in the south Asia which has made it one of the most coveted geo-

political and geo economic ground for exploitation by the major powers in the Internationalarena. Totally landloc ed by India Bangladesh in its south has a small connection to the Bay of Bengal. It has lin to entire !ast Asian countries through "yanmar. #hina is also a at closedistance $%&& m' and (epal and Bhutan is at )) m $*chic en+s nec ' hiliguri of Indiacorridor. This )) m *chic en+s nec stands as a barrier to get access to !ast Asia countrieswhere Bangladesh has immense economic interest. reater foreign lin age enables a country tota e strong foreign policy and greater bargaining power in secure its economic interest.Bangladesh lac s that lin age.The geo-strategic, geo-political, and geo-economic position of Bangladesh has made it a pivot of the regional strategy, a significant place in world strategy. Though a small land in comparison tosome other countries in outh Asia, Bangladesh has huge potential of /esources li e 0il andother fuel reserve as well as huge untapped mineral resources underground and its mar et of %1&million people. This made Bangladesh a fertile ground for economic partnership for thosecountries who do not see any geo-political ambition in this region. Bangladesh stands betweentwo Asian giants, India with its regional ambitions and peaceful and friendly #hina, on thethreshold of being the largest economy in the world ma ing it much vulnerable unless it finds astrong nationalist government with strategic goals.Three nuclear power countries are neighbors of Bangladesh - #hina and 2a istan form analignment against regional power India having strategic alliance with 3 A to counter 2a -#hinaaxis. This intensive geo-political location has placed Bangladesh in both #hallenging and

advantageous position. (epal and Bhutan have only economic interest and want to gain accessto sea to develop trade through Bangladesh. India and #hina having geo-political and geo-economic rivalry cannot ignore Bangladesh as a prospective ally or adversary. 3 A having itsnaval base in Andaman and (i obor islands of India wants to expand its strategic position insouth Asia by securing another naval base in #hittagong. A naval base in #hittagong deep seawill enable #hina to successfully counter Indo-3 threat and will get a free hand for its armadaroaming the Indian 0cean. The strategic footprints of #hina are increasingly becoming

prominent in the Indian 0cean region. 4rom 5est Asia to the outh #hina ea #hinese baseshave created a strategic nexus nown as the 6string of pearls+.

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(aval base in awdar, 2a istan, container port in 7ambantota, ri 8an a, deep water port inittwe, "yanmar, a canal across Thailand+s 9ra Isthmus, submarine base near anya in the

southern tip of 7ainan Island and an upgraded airstrip on 5oody Island located in the 2aracelarchipelago :&& nautical miles east of ;ietnam are pearls of the emerging #hinese geo-politicalnetwor in the Indian 0cean region. #hinese plan to develop onodia islands as a deep sea portand to upgrade container shipping facilities in the #hittagong port have raised alarm in India.The Bay of Bengal is the only lin among the countries situated along it giving Bangladesh anutmost geo-political importance. Bay of Bengal stretches from #hina in the east to 5est Asiaand Africa in the west. It connects all the sea lanes of the region, connecting the important"alacca traits and Taiwan traits, and extends to outh #hina ea, !ast #hina ea and the2acific. Bay of Bengal is bears much importance to India for its strategic maritime space for its

political and diplomatic initiative towards A !A(. The 3 has appeared as a major sta eholder,and considers that the pivot of its world strategy is the Asia-2acific region.

The !3 wor ing closely with Bangladesh under the framewor of the !3-Bangladesh #o-operation Agreement, provides co-operation to extend aid on trade and economic development,human rights, good governance and the environment. Bangladesh has been a 5T0 member since %s

main trading partner, accounting for around %) of Bangladesh>s total trade. The problem with!3 countries rests much on its provision of billions of 3 s to the ( 0s who most of the timesmeddle with political affairs rather than improving the lot of the disadvantaged people. There isanother aspect of !3 stand on human rights situation in Bangladesh which is not followed withconcrete action. 5hile voicing concern on minority rights !3 in most cases avoided theactivities of the minorities which are tantamount to anti-state activity. 7owever as a trading

partner !3 has played its role well.

Bangladesh has immediate border with seven Indian states CTripura, "eghalaya, Assam,"onipur, (agaland and Arunachal- are engaged in bloody liberation struggle against India for long. It is too troublesome for India to suppress that liberation war unless it gets a corridor through Bangladesh to secure safe passage of arms and ammunition and even other supplies.These regions are a security nightmare for India since it lies on the #hina border. 3nder suchcircumstances, Indian strategic interests dictate that India+s proposed transit corridor connectingmainland India with India+s (orth-!astern states through Bangladesh must remain available for Indian military access in situation of military conflict between India and #hina. This involvesmultilateral peace and security alarm for India in maintaining its territorial and regional stability.It was obvious that Bangladesh would detest the idea of any military movement in this corridor out of the fear of being drawn into a military conflict. It would not li e to share the same fatewhich was faced by pain in the hands of (apoleon when the (apoleonic army en-route to2ortugal through pain occupied "adrid. But the present . 7asina led government is toomuch India friendly and there is every possibility that there may be some covert agreement to

agree on India+s need sacrificing Bangladesh+s interest.outh Asia is a conflict prone area. India being the largest economy and military might has given

rise to tensions by promoting insurgency in political, economic and cultural arena of itsneighboring countries from its fear of secession of its north eastern provinces which are beingexploited economically without caring for the development the states. It is said that when any

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country is landloc ed by only one country it suffers from geo-political disadvantage and a* cary psyche . A friendly Bangladesh is vital for India+s territorial integrity. 7ere Bangladeshcan verily play this trump card and ma e India ta e a positive stand on Bangladesh and not tomeddle in any geo-political or geo-economic adventure and allow Bangladesh a corridor toaccess develop its !ast Asia connection. But India is too much concerned on Bangladesh havingclose ties with its arch rival #hina. To counter this threat India is continually encouraging and

providing all out covert support to the 7indu "inority in Bangladesh threatening to createindependent *Bangabhumi ta ing its %D (orth-!astern istricts from Bangladesh.

An extreme sense of distrust insecurity and perceived domination by India has broughtindignation in the hearts of Bangladeshi people. India has become increasingly concerned aboutBangladesh, as #hina is gaining ground. India Bangladesh relations have stagnated over the pastregims due to indiscriminate illing of Bangladeshi by India+s Border ecurity 4orce, water sharing issue, smuggling, transit and huge trade deficit and na ed cultural aggression. India isgradually tightening its noose around Bangladesh+s nec through cultural, economic and

political aggression. In the political front meddling into the internal politics of Bangladesh Indiahas engaged its intelligence wing /A5, huge amounts of cash, and intimidation to Bangladesh

army not to oppose Indian interests and inciting the anti nationalist patriot forces to launchna ed political agenda has made B(2+s opposition 2arty Awami league to play as you li e tomanipulate election in its favor and form government in return to pledges that India+s southAsian interest will be served well. 0n the cultural front the Bangladesh government and Indian

paid agents in Bangladesh cultural bodies are allowing Indian cinema and T; channels totelecast their programs in Bangladesh disregarding the cultural tradition and ethics of theBangladeshi people, and thus drawing billions of Indian currency as tax. But no Bangladeshichannel is allowed telecasting in India. In the economic front, India encouraged smuggling of Indian goods worth E billion 3 s causing Bangladesh industries to collapse and thus drainingout huge amount of money from Bangladesh. The reality is that Bangladesh has turned into amar et of India. India has erected multipurpose dams all around Bangladesh and thus controlling

water supply into its rivers from upstream which have caused havoc in environment andagricultural crop production. The land boundary is still to be resolved ma ing it possible for India to intrude into Bangladesh and grab huge chun s of land without opposition for Bangladesh overnment. Though the maritime boundary has been settled Bangladeshgovernment+s inaction to increase its naval power and reluctance to explore the resources thereinhas made India bold enough to encroach into its maritime boundary and grab a@uatic resources.The present situation in Bangladesh has dragged it to a point of no return and be rightly called a*4ailed tate 7ere political leaders and their puppet thin -tan s, ( 0s and professional bodiesand associations of various forms and views are playing aggressively to drag the country into thenet of regional and international hegemony. The roles of the decision-ma ers of Bangladesh bothfrom the seats of the power and the opposition should be reviewed. It is dividing the people todifferent camps giving rise to unrestrained violence and calling for foreign interferences beyondlimits.

As long as governance of a developing country wor s in unanimity the pertinent approach of economic diplomacy, political diplomacy and public diplomacy $the conduct of internationalrelations by governments through public communications media and through dealings with awide range of nongovernmental entities li e political parties, corporations, trade associations,labor unions, educational institutions, religious organiFations, ethnic groups, and so on includinginfluential individuals for the purpose of influencing the politics and actions of other governments' should be given priority. Bangladesh+s economic diplomacy should be guided bythree basics, namely increasing exports, 4 I inflow and managing regular aid flow. The country

should not split economic diplomacy from its political diplomacy and public diplomacy.In the forming the regional strategy in south Asia Bangladesh posses a uni@ue favorable geo- political, geo-economic and geo-strategic position only if it can play its cards well enoughthrough professional public diplomacy, economic diplomacy and political diplomacy.

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The people are neither against foreign cooperation if all political economic and cultural aspectsare run eeping national interests and sovereignty high in estimation under all the phases. 7erein * lobal ;illage local, national, regional and international needs, limitations andinterdependence of nation states have necessarily mingled. There is no problem if Bangladesh

becomes a joining thread in the integrated multi-dimensional global web, but should be ever alert not to be the prey of the hunter spider sitting at the center. The concept of living in the

lobal ;illage as e@ual partners, help each other to develop capability and capacity under allcircumstances, ensuring that sovereign entity and standing of a nation state is not disturbed at allshould be the principle.