Explainer: Why India-Bangladesh ties must focus more on Bay of Bengal link  

A report argues India should view Bangladesh as a strategic maritime partner in the Bay of Bengal, strengthening trade, energy cooperation, connectivity and climate resilience while maintaining border security. It urges New Delhi to offer effective development projects amid China's growing regional engagement

New Delhi: Bangladesh shares a large border with India, across which issues such as smuggling, trafficking, irregular migration and other forms of organised crime require serious attention. However, the two countries also share a maritime link because of their proximity to the Bay of Bengal, according to a new report. Bangladesh is not simply a neighbouring state across India’s eastern frontier.

It is a gateway to the sea, a bridge to the Northeast and a vital partner in India’s attempt to become a more influential power in the Indo-Pacific, according to an article in India Narrative. The article observes that when bilateral relations are viewed primarily through concerns on the land border between the two countries, the approach limits India’s own strategic imagination.

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It encourages New Delhi to look eastward through the lens of containment instead of opportunity. It gives disproportionate importance to short-term political controversies while neglecting the long-term value of maritime connectivity, energy cooperation, trade, and climate resilience. A maritime-centred relationship would enable India to combine security with connectivity. India must, therefore, retain a firm approach to border security while placing the border inside a much larger strategic framework, that includes the Bay of Bengal which is the country’s Eastern Gateway, the article states.

It highlights that the Bay of Bengal is increasingly becoming a central arena of India’s economic and strategic interests. It connects India’s eastern coast with Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Southeast Asia. India’s geography gives it a natural advantage in this maritime space.

Its eastern coastline, island territories, naval capabilities, ports, and growing commercial networks provide the foundations for regional leadership. India is one of the region’s principal geographical and civilisational centres.

Bangladesh’s growing engagement with China is an important consideration for India. China has expanded its infrastructure, commercial and diplomatic presence across the Bay of Bengal. Bangladesh seeks investment, technology and development opportunities from multiple partners. The article further states that India should respond with strategic seriousness, but not with insecurity.

Bangladesh will not accept a relationship based on exclusive alignment. It has its own national interests and will continue to engage with different powers. India’s answer should be to improve its own performance. It should offer projects that are timely, transparent, financially viable and responsive to Bangladesh’s development needs. It should use its natural advantages of proximity, market access, cultural links, energy connections and regional knowledge- to become the partner Bangladesh finds most useful, the article observes.