{"id":81202,"date":"2023-07-20T06:00:30","date_gmt":"2023-07-19T20:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?p=81202"},"modified":"2023-07-19T16:18:26","modified_gmt":"2023-07-19T06:18:26","slug":"what-bangladeshs-indo-pacific-outlook-means-for-the-region","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/what-bangladeshs-indo-pacific-outlook-means-for-the-region\/","title":{"rendered":"What Bangladesh\u2019s \u2018Indo-Pacific outlook\u2019 means for the region"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/figure>\n

Like many small and middle powers, Bangladesh is hedging its approach to great-power competition in the Indo-Pacific. Despite the release of its first Indo-Pacific outlook<\/em><\/a> in April, Bangladesh continues to shy away from the traditional security issues that are fundamental to furthering the US-led rules-based order.<\/p>\n

However, the document provides a promising starting point for the US and partners such as Australia. Supporting Bangladesh to achieve its economic and non-traditional security objectives will further the pursuit of a free and open Indo-Pacific and help to consolidate trust between Dhaka and Washington.<\/p>\n

The release of the outlook comes in the context of repeated efforts by the US and others to persuade Bangladesh to join them in promoting a \u2018free and open\u2019 Indo-Pacific. Bangladesh\u2019s geostrategic location between China and the Indian Ocean region has prompted a steady series of visits from US officials, such as Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs<\/a> Donald Lu in January. Bilateral visits with US partners have similarly increased in pace. In March, the UK\u2019s Indo-Pacific minister<\/a>, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, travelled to Bangladesh for the first time, and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida <\/a>noted in a speech that tapping into the economic potential of Bangladesh aligns with the principle of \u2018excluding no one\u2019 in the region.<\/p>\n

In this context, the outlook has been perceived by some as a crystallisation of Dhaka\u2019s regional positioning with respect to US\u2013China competition. The document\u2019s release<\/a> right before Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina\u2019s 15-day trination tour<\/a> of Japan, the US and the UK has lent support to this climate of optimism. Although Hasina\u2019s trip included a diverse range of engagements beyond security issues, it could indicate Bangladesh\u2019s desire to engage further with advocates for a free and open Indo-Pacific.<\/p>\n

But a closer look at the document\u2019s substance tells a less rosy story. Aside from non-traditional security concerns<\/a>, the outlook focuses on bolstering Bangladesh\u2019s economic security. One of the objectives set out in the policy is \u2018unimpeded and free flow of commerce in the Indo-Pacific\u2019. The focus on prosperity is unsurprising considering Bangladesh\u2019s recent economic growth. The country is on track <\/a>to graduate from the UN\u2019s list of least developed countries in 2026\u2014and according to the outlook\u2019s first paragraph, Bangladesh wants to become a \u2018modern, knowledge-based developed country by 2041\u2019.<\/p>\n

But for the US and its partners, Bangladesh\u2019s pursuit of prosperity is complicated by its adherence to a foreign policy of non-alignment. The outlook\u2019s first guiding principle is \u2018friendship towards all, malice toward none\u2019. The Bangladeshi Foreign Minister A.K. Abdul Momen <\/a>reiterated that sentiment following the launch of the document: \u2018We are not following anyone. Our IPO is independent\u2019.<\/p>\n

One consequence of Bangladesh\u2019s approach of neutrality is close economic engagement with both China and the US. The China\u2013Bangladesh economic relationship has grown significantly, facilitated by its elevation to a strategic partnership of cooperation<\/a> in 2016 and Bangladesh\u2019s participation in projects under China\u2019s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), such as the Bangladesh\u2013China\u2013India\u2013Myanmar Economic Corridor<\/a>. As the US seeks to embed Bangladesh more deeply in its sphere of Indo-Pacific influence, Bangladesh\u2019s close relationship with China will be a significant barrier.<\/p>\n

Another inhibiting factor for cooperation is Bangladesh\u2019s lack of an underlying plan <\/a>to achieve each of the 15 objectives under the outlook. As its name<\/a> indicates, it is an \u2018outlook\u2019 rather than a \u2018strategy\u2019 or \u2018policy\u2019, and while it articulates the importance of the \u2018exercise of freedom of navigation and overflight\u2019 in the region, it establishes no meaningful pathway to achieving that.<\/p>\n

With the outlook as a starting point, the US and its partners must work with Bangladesh towards its goals for the collective benefit of the Indo-Pacific. Bangladesh\u2019s desire to engage with both China and the US makes work in areas of traditional security difficult, but Washington and its partners can still assist Bangladesh with the non-traditional security concerns the outlook identifies\u2014including transnational crime, food insecurity and climate change.<\/p>\n

Between 1976 and 2019<\/a>, Bangladesh experienced an average temperature rise of 0.5\u00b0C, leading to well-documented impacts including cyclones and floods. Although climate-induced migration is typically internal<\/a>, interstate migration <\/a>will increase as the effects of climate change escalate. Deeper engagement with Bangladesh on issues like climate change could help prevent Bangladesh\u2019s entrenchment in China\u2019s sphere of influence.<\/p>\n

Despite Bangladesh\u2019s participation in the BRI, Hasina and her government have shown hesitation<\/a> about the initiative\u2019s future utility. Dhaka is concerned about its mounting debts to Beijing and issues with Sri Lanka\u2019s and Pakistan\u2019s BRI projects. In this precarious moment for Chinese credibility, the US and its partners can step in to provide Bangladesh with alternatives to Chinese investment.<\/p>\n

Bangladesh will naturally continue to hedge, but the US and its partners can still deepen cooperation in line with the outlook where possible. This opportunity makes it a welcome regional mechanism for advancing a free and open Indo-Pacific, despite its limitations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Like many small and middle powers, Bangladesh is hedging its approach to great-power competition in the Indo-Pacific. Despite the release of its first Indo-Pacific outlook in April, Bangladesh continues to shy away from the traditional …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1672,"featured_media":81206,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1556,52,285,821,31],"class_list":["post-81202","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-bangladesh","tag-china","tag-foreign-policy","tag-security-cooperation","tag-united-states"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhat Bangladesh\u2019s \u2018Indo-Pacific outlook\u2019 means for the region | The Strategist<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/what-bangladeshs-indo-pacific-outlook-means-for-the-region\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What Bangladesh\u2019s \u2018Indo-Pacific outlook\u2019 means for the region | The Strategist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Like many small and middle powers, Bangladesh is hedging its approach to great-power competition in the Indo-Pacific. 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