‘I’m surprised why this question came up at all’
Major General ANM Muniruzzaman (retd) reacts to the Chinese Ambassador’s comments on QUAD and Bangladesh
There is a stiff ongoing rivalry between the United States and China. The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QUAD), first initiated in 2007, has taken a new life. For the first time in 2021, all the four members- Australia, Japan, USA and India- came to a QUAD Leader's Conference.
Although there is no direct mention of China in the QUAD, most of the statesmen indicated that it is an attempt to maintain the current status quo and deter China from gaining further influence in the region.
Therefore, there has been a pretty severe reaction from the Chinese side. The recent comments from the Chinese government are only a continuation of the Chinese reaction to the revitalisation of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue.
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But the fact remains that nobody has requested Bangladesh to join the QUAD. There have been some talks regarding the expansion of QUAD but Bangladesh has not been mentioned anywhere.
So, I'm surprised why this question came up at all. As far as I am concerned, Bangladesh must remain independent of any alliance that has military or security connotations.
We must maintain our strategic neutrality at all times. We must also exercise our strategic autonomy in deciding the options that we'll adopt for our foreign policy. It is not in our interest to join any alliances to preserve our national interest.
The author is president of BIPSS
