In a strong message to Bangladesh, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday said that those who threaten India on the 'chicken neck corridor', should note that they have two such narrow strips of land which are "far more vulnerable".
Sarma’s remarks came amid reports that China is assisting Bangladesh in reviving a World War II airbase at Lalmonirhat located close to the Indian border near Siliguri.
The Siliguri Corridor also known as India’s Chicken’s Neck is narrow passage, roughly 20-22 km wide, that connects the northeast with mainland India. The revival of Lalmonirhat airbase is seen as a security threat to the Siliguri Corridor.
"To those who habitually threaten India on the 'Chicken Neck Corridor', should note these facts as well: Bangladesh has two of its own 'chicken necks'. Both are far more vulnerable. First is the 80 km North Bangladesh Corridor- from Dakhin Dinajpur to South West Garo Hills. Any disruption here, can completely isolate the entire Rangpur division from rest of Bangladesh," Sharma said in a post on X.
"Second is the 28 km Chittagong Corridor, from South Tripura till the Bay of Bengal. This corridor, smaller than India's chicken neck, is the only link between Bangladesh's economic capital and political capital," he also said.
Earlier in March, Muhammad Yunus, the chief of the interim government, had invited China to collaborate economically with Dhaka, leveraging Bangladesh as the "only guardian of the ocean" for India's Northeast.
"The seven states of India, the eastern part of India, are called the Seven Sisters. They are a landlocked region... and have not way to reach out to the ocean," he had said.
His remarks drew sharp reactions from Indian politicians especially the chief ministers of various Northeastern states.