US warns Bangladesh of Chinese debt trap

The United States has warned Bangladesh regarding increasing business with China, saying that countries like Sri Lanka which got involved "unwisely" with China are now "suffering" from the Chinese debt trap.

According to a Bangladesh foreign ministry report on the recently held eighth US-Bangladesh Partnership Dialogue, Washington also told Dhaka that the US is unlikely to rescind sanctions on the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and some of its current and former officials over "serious human rights abuse" anytime soon.

The US delegation led by US Under Secretary for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland told their counterparts that Bangladesh needs to exhibit visible efforts to further improve its democratic system for being invited in the next "Democratic Summit" to be convened by the US president.

Signed by Foreign Ministry Director General Toufiq Islam Shatil, the report on the dialogue, held in Dhaka on 20 March, was sent to different ministries on 28 March.

According to the report, the US in the dialogue referred to the recent abstention of Bangladesh from voting on a UN resolution on the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and said, "This is not a moment of being neutral."

On bolstering economic relations between Bangladesh and the US, Under Secretary Victoria Nuland said many US companies are interested in investing in Bangladesh, but she added that more work needs to be done to improve the investment climate in the country.

China dilemma

The US at the dialogue renewed its advice to Bangladesh on moving away from China, and assured support by the Indo-Pacific Strategy.

Referring to Bangladesh's abstention from voting on a UN resolution on the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the US made a plea to Bangladesh to come up with a situational decision and assess the full potential of the Indo-Pacific Strategy (IPS), terming Chinese behaviour in the region as "coercive to human rights and democracy".

The US delegation told Dhaka that Washington would very soon release an "Economic Framework" of the strategy.

The US side in the dialogue termed the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine as strategic competition between autocracy and democracy and "awful" to greater security and prosperity of the world.

The US Under Secretary further pressed it as "unacceptable" and sought Bangladesh's support for a democratic strengthening of the community, the report notes.

Earlier at the three-day Munich Conference held on 18-20 February this year, the United States and India advised Bangladesh to move away from China and turn to Quad – a group of four countries: the United States, Australia, India, and Japan.

On the other hand, China, one of the largest development partners of Bangladesh, also warned last year that Bangladesh's joining Quad would worsen Bangladesh-China relations.

Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen said China has come forward with "a basket of money" for the development of Bangladesh. "They have come up with aggressive as well as cost-effective proposals. Does the United States want to come up with more attractive funding proposals for infrastructure development in countries like Bangladesh?"

Referring to the US, the foreign minister said, "We need more funding from our development partners, but unfortunately, they bring a lot of complications and it becomes difficult for us to accept their proposals."

RAB row and human rights

Lifting sanctions on RAB and its top officials dominated Dhaka's agenda at the dialogue. According to the report, Dhaka explained the allegations brought against RAB over certain specific incidents.

Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen, who led the Bangladesh side, reiterated that Bangladesh had always shown its readiness to deal with any specific allegations against RAB members.

The US side appreciated the Bangladesh government's willingness to work closely with the United States to find ways and means to lift sanctions on RAB. However, it cautioned that the lifting of the sanctions would require detailed assessment on whether there are qualitative changes, and may take time.

The US side also mentioned that it is well aware of the discomfort of the government about RAB sanctions, but simultaneously stated that it has "credible information" on the extrajudicial killings.

The US Under Secretary raised two questions in this regard – how did Bangladesh investigate the extrajudicial killing cases against RAB personnel and what is the training process of RAB?

Foreign ministry officials said after the RAB sanctions in December 2021, there had been concern that the overall political relations between two countries were experiencing some gap.

The US side also expressed concern about abuses of the Digital Security Act and the crackdown on civil society, religious minorities and opposition leaders.

Bangladesh expressed its openness to suggestions of the international community for better enforcement of the act and identification of loopholes, according to the report.

In response, the Under Secretary mentioned that the US government is ready to support Bangladesh by joining the review process of the act.

Surprising non-invitation

Dhaka at the dialogue told Washington that non-inclusion in the first Democracy Summit in December last year was "a matter of surprise" for Bangladesh.

As one of the largest democracies in the world in terms of population, Bangladesh expressed the hope that it will be invited to the next Democracy Summit to be convened by President Joe Biden.

"The US delegation expressed willingness to assist Bangladesh in formulating some pledges, as is being done by countries that have attended the first Democracy Summit. These pledges are likely to encourage the White House to invite Bangladesh in the next Democracy Summit," noted the foreign ministry report.

Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen also told the US side that Bangladesh has successfully been able to pass the "Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners Appointment Bill-2022" that would eventually pave the way to a free, fair and participatory election in due course.

Enhancing trade ties

Bangladesh reiterated its request for restoration of the generalised system of preferences (GSP) and duty-free quota-free access to the US market and requested the US administration to consider revising the bilateral investment treaty and avoidance of a double taxation treaty between Bangladesh and the USA.

The US side, however, did not comment about GSP and other preferential market access issues.

Bangladesh stressed that it will look forward to more US investment in such sectors as agro-processing, infrastructure, healthcare, electronics, shipbuilding, light engineering and ICT.

The US side raised the long-outstanding issue of double fumigation requirement of cotton imported from the US, underscoring that it needs an early resolution of the issue, said the report.

Blue economy, military agreement

Bangladesh placed several proposals to the US side with regard to tapping the resources of the blue economy, including fish detecting technology either through satellite or sonar, surveillance boats and equipment, research and training opportunities, sea food processing technology and technology transfer for developing marine biotechnology.

The US said its plan revolving around the Indo Pacific region would consist of both economic and security components to benefit its partners sustainably.

The US side called for a General Security of Military Information Agreement (Gsomia) so that Bangladesh could integrate with the US security and defence framework.

Regarding the defence purchase, the US noted that it would consider the price adjustment mechanism to make US defence material affordable for Bangladesh. Concerning the deployment of the Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) system in peacekeeping operations under the Global Peace Operations Initiative, the US side expressed its willingness for the deployment of a UAS advisor in Dhaka, noted the foreign ministry report.

Labour rights

On labour issues, the US side stated that other South Asian countries receive $4.0 billion approximately per annum as development assistance from the International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) of the US while Bangladesh is unable to qualify for it because of child labour and violations of labour law. The US side expressed its keen interest in working with Bangladesh in addressing the labour issues.

Dhaka said Bangladesh had made through massive legal and administrative reforms since 2013 to uphold labour rights and workplace safety in Bangladesh. Dhaka also informed the dialogue that a roadmap has been developed according to ILO conventions, the implementation of which would have an impact on all economic sectors of Bangladesh and involve wider engagement of stakeholders across the sectors.

Rohingya repatriation and others

Bangladesh also expressed its disappointment regarding Myanmar's non-cooperation and failure to create a conducive environment for the return of Rphingya refugees to Rakhine State and recommended further strict measures, including bringing a resolution in the UN Security Council proposing a global arms embargo and suspending the GSP facility and re-imposing economic sanctions to compel Myanmar to stop all atrocities and start the repatriation process immediately.

In response, the US side assured Dhaka that it will continue its support for Bangladesh and provide assistance for Rohingyas. The Under Secretary further stated that the US had considered more severe actions on the Myanmar military, including large scale sanctions.

The US delegation asserted its firm conviction to engage with the UN system and Bangladesh relevant to this crisis. The Under Secretary informed that the US administration is considering relocation of the displaced Rohingyas in the US and other countries, in collaboration with the UNHCR, in large numbers.

Dhaka also requested its counterpart to restart US technical mission programmes as part of reinstating Dhaka-New York direct flights and requested US cooperation in facilitating the process.