That a cold war is on, between the West on one side and China and Russia on the other is no secret. It’s the most evident bit of reality that is shaping the new world. The West is a conglomerate of many countries but all now weaker in comparison to the last US-Russia cold war. This time the main foe is China but Russia has added itself to the equation.
The US is much bigger than the rest of the West and its undeclared leader. Meanwhile the opponents to the Western group are friends of convenience. They have a long history of fellow travelling and hostility but at this point are holding hands albeit gingerly to scuttle their opponent’s boat. Who wins waits to be seen. But the battle is on.
It’s not a problem for the battling sides as they have a war at hand to deal with but the scene is different for the rest of the world. They have to choose sides based on a number of self- interest indicators. In some cases the matter is decided such as with India. It is already in conflict with China on a number of issues including military conflict so the decisions are already taken. Hence their lining up behind the US is given. The matter of course is not so simple in the case of the rest of the South Asian countries.
India’s asymmetric position and not too neighbors’ friendly policies has alienated almost every South Asian state. The result has been the entry of China into the region as a sort of member without being one much to the relief of the rest of the smaller South Asians. It’s the most powerful presence as well which is a difficulty for India.
The effect of this has been felt by all including Bangladesh who have been dubbed as India‘s “friendliest” state. Whether this is true or not, it’s true that India is not just the second trade partner after China but in most other matters, matters most to Bangladesh is.
Bangladesh has shown significant pragmatism as far as balancing China and India is concerned. Depending on who is saying it, it is considered closer to India or China. But the point is, it’s probably closer to none. Bangladesh can’t afford to be so. Its only hope is to take no sides.
When Bangladesh was criticized by sushils and rights groups for attending the Armed Forces day in Myanmar, not many knew that India had attended too because it didn’t want China to play in a field all by themselves. It needed to be seen.
Similarly, Bangladesh abstained from voting on Myanmar at the UN recently on the Myanmar military junta because China and several others did so. China is perceived by most as the main backer of the army that took over but for Bangladesh that would mean voting against its critical ally including on the Rohingya repatriation issue. . So Bangladesh also abstained.
Bangladesh voting doesn’t matter to the world but it matters to Bangladesh particularly in its own region. Hence no matter whether it is seen as supporting a HR violator indirectly or not, it will continue to serve its own interest.
