By Ayan Guha,
India aims to be a key player in the contemporary global affairs of the emerging multi-polar world order. The emergence of India as a major player depends much on its capacity to manage the affairs of its own backyard, South Asia. Though India has historically considered South Asia as its natural zone of influence, today it has to compete with China for strategic influence in this region. In this strategic game the importance of Bangladesh needs to be recognized taking into account both geo-political and maritime security considerations.
Geo-political dimension of Indo-Bangladesh relations
The geo-political dimension of the Indo-Bangladesh relations closely tied to the geographic location of Bangladesh. The physical connectivity of India’s politically volatile North-east region with India’s mainland is limited. The North-eastern states are separated from its mainland by a 20 km. wide stretch of Indian territory called chicken neck or Siliguri Corridor. But India’s North-eastern states can easily be accessed from West Bengal through Bangladesh. This region is a security nightmare for India since it lies on the China border and is a hotbed of insurgency. Under such circumstances, Indian strategic interests dictate that the proposed transit corridor connecting mainland India with India’s North-Eastern states through Bangladesh must remain available for Indian military access in situation of military conflict between India and China. Moreover, from Indian point of view military access to this corridor is also essential for any sustained military campaign against insurgent groups in the Northeastern states. But it is 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 like to share the same fate which was faced by Spain in the hands of Napoleon when the Napoleonic army en-route to Portugal through Spain occupied Madrid. However, Bangladesh seems to be keen in allowing transit facilities through West Bengal for economic purposes if land boundary agreement and Teesta River treaty are concluded. Under such circumstances Indian efforts should be directed at making the provisions of the proposed transit treaty as vague as possible so as to keep open the option of military mobilization through the proposed transit corridor if the situation demands so. This would act as a meaningful deterrent against Chinese aggression and also put significant pressure on insurgent activities in the Northeastern states.
In this context, the importance of Bangladesh in India’s maritime security also needs to be highlighted. In the Indian Ocean region the strategic footprints of China are increasingly becoming prominent. Chinese bases along the sea lanes from West Asia to the South China Sea have created a strategic nexus popularly called ‘string of pearls’. Naval base in Gawdar, Pakistan, container port in Hambantota, Sri Lanka, deep water port in Sittwe, Myanmar, a canal across Thailand’s Kra Isthmus, submarine base near Sanya in the southern tip of Hainan Island and an upgraded airstrip on Woody Island located in the Paracel archipelago 300 nautical miles east of Vietnam are pearls of the emerging Chinese geo-political network in the Indian Ocean region. Under such a scenario, an India friendly Bangladesh can help India to counter the Chinese strategic incursion in this region. Bangladesh is gifted with physical proximity to South-East Asia in a manner that it can work as an economic and strategic bridge between India and BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) and ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries. Therefore, Bangladesh has enormous potential to foster economic and politico-security co-operation in the Indian Ocean region. When the proposed Asian Highway and Trans-Asian Railway projects are implemented, Bangladesh will be the potential transit point for the SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) and ASEAN region. Its well-developed sea ports offer both economic and military opportunities which China is eyeing to counter India’s strategic depth in the Bay of Bengal. Chinese plan to develop Sonodia islands as a deep sea port and to upgrade container shipping facilities in the Chittagong port have raised alarm bells in India. India must use its leverage over the Sheikh Hasina government to gain some access to Bangladeshi port facilities to increase trade with South and South East Asian countries and to challenge Chinese game plan in the Indian Ocean region.
Bangladesh – a strategic opportunity for India
In India’s strategic world-view Bangladesh has not been given adequate importance. It has been seen as a strategic menace rather than a strategic opportunity. Time has come to unlock the strategic potential of Bangladesh to achieve India’s foreign policy objectives. In this pursuit India must recognize the strength and weakness with which Bangladesh is naturally endowed by virtue of its geo-political location. While the physical proximity of Bangladesh to Southeast Asia and India’s Northeast gives it some leverage over India it faces significant geographic handicap since it is land-locked by India from three sides. Therefore, the dependence of Bangladesh on India is a fact that is irreversible to a large extent. The success of Indian diplomacy in checking the growing Chinese influence over Bangladesh depends to a large extent on the intelligent use of Bangladeshi dependence on India without provoking the fear of Indian hegemony.
—
The author is an Assistant Professor under West Bengal Education Service (W.B.E.S) and a Doctoral Scholar, Jamia Milia Islamia, New Delhi. He can be reached at [email protected].
