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Beijing’s Quad Quandary: Why China Fears Losing Bangladesh
Beijing’s warning to Dhaka is drawn staunchly on concerns over how a “Quad plus Bangladesh” could hinder China’s South Asia policy and prove an advantage for India (and Japan) in their strategic competition.
On May 12, in a sharp rebuke to Bangladesh, Beijing’s representative to Dhaka, Li Jiming, warned Bangladesh that their bilateral ties would undergo “substantial damage” if Dhaka joins or backs the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad). Comprising India, Japan, the United States, and Australia, the Quad has quickly become a key grouping in the Indo-Pacific that promotes a shared vision of a rules-based order and seeks to manage (if not counter) Chinese belligerence. Beijing has been overtly critical of the grouping as an “exclusive clique” reminiscent of “cold war politics” being led by the United States in an attempt to contain China. The tone of Li Jiming’s remarks vis-à-vis Bangladesh’s
Regional Organizations Fall Short as Myanmar Continues to Bleed
Riot police in Yangon in February.
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By Jayanta Kalita 19 May 2021
The crisis in Myanmar has highlighted, among other issues, the ineffectiveness of regional forums such as ASEAN and BIMSTEC.
The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations or ASEAN, which should have acted with utmost urgency to stop the bloodshed and violence and demand the release of detained civilian leaders, has done too little and too late. There had been a clear lack of unity and unanimity among the member states to condemn the Feb. 1 military coup in the largest Southeast Asian nation.
Sabyasachi Dutta, executive director of Asian Confluence, explains that “Historically the Bay has been a connector for the diverse peoples of South and Southeast Asia via trade and cultural interactions.” Additional titles in the Asia Pacific Bulletin seriesThe Bay of Bengal, the world’s largest Bay, is strategically located in the Indian Ocean. On its western rim, lies the