Category: Bay of Bengal

Is the CCP’s Rule Permanent?

Commentary The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) styled itself a mythical phoenix in a 1959 propaganda poster. The phoenix rises from a sheaf of wheat to govern China, depicted as a dragon emerging from the smelting pot of industrialization. That phoenix now boasts a formidable nuclear arsenal. The CCP’s rapid military buildup could make it, like…


Burmese Junta Gives PLA Foothold in the Bay of Bengal

Commentary New Delhi has confronted the Burma government over Indian satellite images of Chinese workers constructing a listening post and extending an airstrip on the Coco Islands in the Bay of Bengal. Burma (also known as Myanmar) has denied Chinese involvement, but Indian officials are concerned that the facility will enable the People’s Liberation Army…


Storm Weakens After Heavy Rain, Evacuation in Southern India

HYDERABAD, India—A tropical storm weakened after dumping heavy rains overnight in parts of southern India off the Bay of Bengal as more than 50,000 people evacuated to government-run camps, officials said Saturday. No loss of life or major damage has been reported so far from the rain-hit areas of Andhra Pradesh state. Kanna Babu, a…


Bangladesh Cuts Cost of China-Funded BRI Railway Projects; Beijing Withdraws Funding

China has withdrawn its BRI (Belt and Road Initiative) funding for railway projects in Bangladesh, after the recipient country proposed significant cuts in costs. This happened amidst increasing tension between the two countries. According to media reports, the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina found that Chinese companies were charging three times the normal price…


Bangladesh Hits Back at China’s Threat Against Joining US-led QUAD

On May 10, the Chinese ambassador to Bangladesh warned against Bangladesh’s possible participation in the US-led Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QUAD), threatening that it would cause “substantial damage” to the bilateral relations; the Bangladeshi foreign minister responded by sharply rejecting Beijing’s interference with Bangladesh’s affairs. The QUAD is a four-nation Indo-Pacific summit led by the United…


Bangladesh Rebuffs China’s Threat Against Joining US-Led Quad

Bangladesh’s foreign minister on May 11 rejected remarks by the Chinese ambassador warning the South Asian nation not to participate in the U.S.-led Quadrilateral Security Dialogue because it would damage bilateral relations. The Quad is a four-nation Indo-Pacific alliance led by the United States, along with India, Japan, and Australia. Beijing considers the Quad a “small…