Big-power bets on Indo-Pacific: BD plans to pursue its own homespun strategy

Bangladesh prefers to steer its own course in the Indo-Pacific with homespun strategies to remain non-aligned with any alignment over the potential zone.

The decision to pursue its own Indo-Pacific strategies comes amid reported hectic lobbying from the US and its allies to be part of their Indo-Pacific grouping and China's simultaneous request for Dhaka not to fall into any such orbit.

China has been vocal against the IPS since its inception as they see it as a mechanism by the US and its allies to corner themselves in their own turf.

"We are preparing some elements so that we can also devise our own strategy on what kind of Bay of Bengal we want to see. So it's not that we are joining some alliance or not," Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen told the FE Wednesday when asked whether Bangladesh has made any decision to join in the US-led alliance.

"It's not that they have invited us or we are not accepting their invitation. The matter is not like that," the senior secretary said.

"Indo-Pacific Strategy is conceived by the US. Similarly Canada has its own strategy on Indo-Pacific. European Union and Japan have also their own strategies on the Indo-Pacific," he said about what is seen as geopolitical 'big-power game'.

"We want a free and inclusive sea, we want to ensure maritime security," says the top official at foreign office.

He likened Bangladesh's vision on the Indo-Pacific to the four principles of the Indo-Pacific strategy of Canada.

As such, he does not think there is any conflicting issue in Bangladesh's stance.

The United States and its allies have been promoting the IPS for several years by linking it to growth and prosperity of the region and expressed their expectations to get Bangladesh on board.

They made it clear that their foreign policy in the region was highly focused on the Indo-Pacific vision and their future development initiatives in the region would evolve through this alignment.

In a recent meeting four envoys -- Peter Haas of the USA, Robert Dickson of the UK, Ito Naoki of Japan and Jeremy of Australia--noted that Bangladesh, having a high potential to be a key player in the region, would be expected to be a key ally in the vision.

"Whatever we decide much of that future will be written right here and the Indo-Pacific stretching from the Pacific coastline of the United States to the Indian Ocean. The Indo-Pacific is the most dynamic region of the world. It is home to more than half of the world's people and nearly two-thirds of the world's economy," Peter Haas told the meeting.

The American diplomat said the US seeks to work with Bangladesh and other partners to build an Indo-Pacific that has five key elements: a free and open, interconnected, prosperous, secure, and resilient region.

He also mentioned: "Our strategy is not about forcing countries to take sides. Sides, it's about ensuring that the region is free and open. So that individual countries can freely make their own choices…"

Foreign ministry sources say similar comments were made by US Senior Director for South Asia, National Security Council, Rear Admiral Eileen Laubacher when she met key Bangladeshi officials during her visit. She left Dhaka Monday.

According to sources the IPS issue may also feature talks during the upcoming visit of US Assistant Secretary of State Donald Lu.

About his country's stance on this matter British High Commissioner in Dhaka Dickson said, "This region is vital to global growth and economic dynamism, and that very much includes the Bay of Bengal, as well as the wider Indo-Pacific region."

According to Japanese diplomats, in order to pursue free and open Indo-Pacific (Foip), Japan has been and will be providing practical cooperation in wider areas of relevance to realize this vision.

"So we provide very wide-ranging cooperation to Bangladesh with the idea of promoting practical cooperation to pursue free, open Indo-Pacific," says a Japanese diplomat.

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