The United States is concerned about the possibility of growing Chinese presence in Bangladesh, a senior administration official has told the lawmakers.
“We are concerned about the possibility of a growing Chinese presence in Bangladesh. But I would say the Bangladeshis have been pretty careful about not overextending quickly,” Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia told the lawmakers during a Congressional hearing on Tuesday.
“In terms of Russia, Chinese influence in Bangladesh in that area, have you seen any uh things that are concerning in that regard as well?” Congressman Bill Keating asked.
“I would say the most influential country in Bangladesh is actually not Russia or China, it’s India. And we have a really active dialogue with India about our policies in Bangladesh and throughout the wider region,” Lu said in response to the question.
Congresswoman Young Kim said the Chinese Communist Party is a top trading partner for Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Afghanistan, which is around America’s strategic partner India.
“The PLA’s presence is also intensifying both along the Indian border and in the Indian Ocean. Aid and cooperation play a pivotal role not only in advancing US interests in South Asia, but also in enhancing their prosperity and keeping the region free and open,” she said.
Responding to another question from Congressman Andy Kim, Lu said that the recently held elections in Bangladesh had less violence than the previous two.
“We believe that these elections were less violent than the last two in Bangladesh, in part due to both government and opposition taking a step back because of the threat of sanctions,” he said.
Lu told the lawmakers that the United States has been following very closely this past week the violence in Bangladesh.
“We’ve condemned that violence we’ve called on the government to respect freedom of assembly and freedom of speech. We’ve called upon the government to restore internet to the country, which has been off now for several days,” he said.
“You will be aware that there is a curfew that has been put in place by the government as a response to some of the violence that’s happened. Some in police have said there’s a shoot on sight order for anyone involved in. That’s what I heard. So we have condemned from the spokesperson of the State Department uh the shoot on sight order and ask them to roll that back,” Lu said.
“It’s a very tense moment in Bangladesh between protesters and the government. We hope that calm is restored. I have been in touch with senior leaders in Bangladesh. We remain in touch with them now to try to encourage them to find a peaceful way to resolve this crisis,” said the Assistant Secretary of State.
