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Friday, March 29, 2024

China warns Bangladesh against joining the Quad

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As China seems to have been fizzled out with the idea of Bangladesh joining the QUAD (Quadrilateral Security Dialogue), the Chinese Ambassador in Bangladesh warns Dhaka against joining the Quadrilateral group led by the US involving India, Australia, and Japan.

 As per the reports of ANI, the Chinese ambassador in Bangladesh’s Dhaka, Li Jiming on Monday warned Dhaka against joining the QUAD alliance. He further said that if Bangladesh joins the anti- Beijing ‘club’ it can cause “substantial damage” to bilateral relations between two nations.

 As the ambassador expressed his views on behalf of his country, he said the QUAD alliance works like an absolute against the Republic of China and that to be the core reason of Japan joining the alliance.

 Notably, the cut- sharp remarks by Li were made in an event organized by the Diplomatic Correspondents Association (DCAB) while discussing several issues had said that the message of Bangladesh joining the group was passed on by the Chinese Defence Minister Wei Fenghe during his recent visit to the south Asian nation.

Replying to the sharp remarks of the Chinese Ambassador, on Tuesday the Bangladesh Foreign Affairs Minister AK Abdul Momen asserted, “We are an independent and sovereign state. We decide our foreign policy. Any country can uphold its position. But we will take decisions considering the interest of people and the country.”

 Momen cleared with the facts that none of the QUAD member nations has approached Bangladesh to join the alliance and the remarks of the Chinese Ambassador Li Jiming were premature. He even asserted that it was unusual for a nation like China to interfere in the state’s policies. “We did not expect it from China,” Momen said.

As per the reports of the economic times, the Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying denied having heard the remarks of the minister. She quoted “China and Bangladesh are very friendly close neighbours. We have grown our ties based on the five principles of peaceful coexistence. We always treat each other with mutual respect and firmly support one another on issues bearing on respective core interests and major concerns.”

 She went on targeting the four nations alliance in an updated post which read “we all know what kind of mechanism the Quad is. China opposes certain countries’ efforts to form an exclusive clique, portray China as a challenge, and sow discord between regional countries and China.”

She asserted on Momen’s comment how can China interfere and push its stand on issues on smaller countries that China always treats other countries as equals, especially small and medium ones. She further said, “China was, is, and will remain committed to its principle.”

 Past in March a virtual QUAD summit was held and was led by the US President Joe Biden in which he asserted, “a vital arena for cooperation in the Indo-Pacific” in the upcoming years.

 With such warning being given to a sovereign nation like Bangladesh, the spokesperson of the US Department of State, Ned Price on Tuesday extended their support to the nation saying, “We respect Bangladesh’s sovereignty, and we respect Bangladesh’s right to make foreign policy decisions for itself. We have an incredibly strong relationship with Bangladesh. We work closely with our partners there on a range of issues, from economic growth to climate change to humanitarian issues.”

 On extending support to the nation on behalf of the QUAD alliance Ned said “And when it comes to the QUAD, we’ve said this before, but the QUAD, it’s an informal, essential, multi-lateral mechanism that right now conveys, convenes like-minded democracies- the United States, India, Australia, and Japan- to coordinate in the Indo–Pacific and fortunately to push forward our goal of a free and open Indo-Pacific region.”

 Notably, QUAD stands for Quadrilateral Security Dialogue is an informal strategic dialogue between 4 democracies like the United States, India, Australia, and Japan and exists since 2007 with a resolve to uphold a principle-based international border in the Indo-Pacific region as the Chinese assertiveness in the region is and can be more disturbing in the near future.

[author title=”Shreya Gohel” image=”http://localhost/gc2/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/20210127_014031.jpg”]Intern, Goa Chronicle[/author]

DISCLAIMER: This article reflects author’s view point. Goa Chronicle may or may not subscribe to views of the author

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