Understanding Bangladesh’s relations with India and China: dilemmas and responses

ABSTRACT The paper asserts that Bangladesh survives and thrives not only the global level power rivalry but also the interests of both China and India, especially in maintaining their presence and influence in South Asia and its adjacent regions. Bangladesh enjoys friendly and robust relations with two competing global powers in its geopolitical vicinity, India, and China. While Bangladesh has excellent bilateral ties with India and China, the bilateral relations of China and India suffer from tensions and mistrust. A growing literature on Sino-Indian relations has already pointed out their relations as ‘rivalry.’ In this context, the paper dwells on the key questions: What implications does the Sino-Indian rivalry bring about for Bangladesh? How is Bangladesh responding to those implications that Sino-Indian rivalry brings? How is Bangladesh shifting its strategic contours of relations with India and China towards a more cooperative framework? The paper argues that these questions are critical for understanding Bangladesh’s pursuit of adjusting to the emerging geopolitical environment marked by growing Sino-Indian rivalry .