In what could further worsen its relations with India, Bangladesh’s Foreign Affairs Adviser, Md Touhid Hossain, has made a statement about Dhaka joining the regional grouping with Pakistan and China. Touhid’s reaction comes as Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar at the recent ‘Islamabad Conclave’ said a trilateral initiative involving Bangladesh, China, and Pakistan had begun and may expand to include countries within and beyond the region.
In a careful reaction, Touhid said it was “strategically possible for Bangladesh to join a regional grouping with Pakistan excluding India”. He quickly added that such an option may not be feasible for Nepal or Bhutan. “It is possible for us (Bangladesh) strategically … (but) it is not possible for Nepal or Bhutan to form a grouping with Pakistan excluding India,” he added.
Touhid, however, remained non-committal about such a move, adding that Dar “has said something, and perhaps at some point this could see some progress.” But, clarified that he had no further comment as he had only come across the information through the media.
Interestingly, Bangladesh had played down talks about joining any alliance without India a few months back. Though Bangladeshi officials reportedly attended a meeting on June 19 in Kunming, China, about the new bloc, Dhaka played down any political implications. “We are not forming any alliance,” Touhid Hossain was later quoted as saying.
However, experts believe a SAARC-like body, excluding India, would not be feasible. SAARC was formed in 1985, when seven South Asian countries — Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka — came together. Afghanistan joined as the eighth member in 2007. But the grouping collapsed after India-Pakistan rivalry paralysed its functioning.
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Swaran Singh, a professor of international relations at New Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University, told South China Morning Post in an earlier interview that India’s position in South Asia is unassailable, thanks to its which is seven times that of Pakistan and its economy, which is 12 times larger. “Its foreign exchange reserves dwarf Pakistan’s by a factor of 45. Its defence budget is also five times the size. This should give us enough idea of the future of any South Asian regional cooperation initiatives that seek to keep India out of its formulation,” he said.
Besides, many nations like Nepal and Bhutan, meanwhile, depend on access to India to fulfil many of their export needs. These countries, though some might have an issue with India, may not want to be looked at as anti-India, according to experts, who believe that the best they could do in such a circumstance is to use the bait as a tactic to get a better deal while bargaining with India on things like trade.
