Friendship with China proved costly for Bangladesh!

New Delhi: After Sheikh Hasina lost power in Bangladesh, its relations with neighboring country India have continuously deteriorated. Recently, Mohammad Yunus, advisor to the interim government of Bangladesh, had described India’s Northeast region as ‘landlocked’, which has been severely criticized. Now India has decided to cancel the important transshipment facility given to Bangladesh.

India has stopped the facility
Under this, Bangladesh’s export cargo was allowed to be taken to third countries through Indian land customs stations (LCSs), ports and airports. But now after the cancellation of this facility by India, Bangladesh’s trade with neighboring countries like Nepal, Bhutan and Myanmar may be affected. This move of India is being seen as a response to the statement of Mohammad Yunus, in which he had advocated the expansion of the Chinese economy in the Northeast region and called it ‘landlocked’.

This decision has been taken through a circular issued by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs on April 8. This notification said, ‘It has been decided to cancel the circular of June 29, 2020 with immediate effect, which stated that cargo that has already entered India may be allowed to leave Indian territory as per the procedure given in that circular.’

According to trade experts, the withdrawal of this facility is expected to benefit several Indian export sectors, including textiles, footwear, gems and jewellery. These are industries in which Bangladesh is a strong competitor, especially in the apparel sector.

What was Mohammad Yunus’ statement?
During his recent four-day visit to China, Mohammad Yunus had described India’s northeastern region as ‘landlocked’ from where there is ‘no way to reach the sea’ and described Bangladesh as the major gateway to this region. Describing Dhaka as the sole custodian of the ocean in South Asia, Chief Advisor Yunus had urged China to increase its economic presence in Bangladesh.

Yunus had said in a high-level roundtable discussion in Beijing, “The seven states of India, the eastern part of India, are called the seven sisters. They are landlocked areas around India. They have no way to reach the sea. So this opens up a huge possibility, it can be an expansion of the Chinese economy.”

Reacting to Yunus’s remarks, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar criticised Bangladesh and said India believes cooperation is an integrated approach, not based on select subjects. “After all, we have the longest coastline in the Bay of Bengal, which is about 6,500 km,” the External Affairs Minister said.

He said India not only shares borders with five BIMSTEC members and connects most of them, but also has a great deal of connectivity between the Indian subcontinent and ASEAN. Our North-East region is emerging as a connectivity hub especially for BIMSTEC, with a vast network of roads, railways, waterways and pipelines.