In a positive development with Bangladesh, India has achieved a strategic victory over China by securing the operational terminal rights of Bangladesh’s Mongla port in the Indian Ocean. This win will give a considerable boost to the country's maritime race, gaining quasi-control of foreign ports and competing with China, which has been expanding its influence in the neighbourhood.

This is India's third successful effort to manage foreign ports in recent years, following Chabahar in Iran and Sittwe in Myanmar. Details of the contract have not been public yet, but some media reports claim that Indian Port Global Limited (IPGL) will manage the terminal at the Mongla port.

Bangladesh's Mongla port
Image Source: www.ipgl.co.in

The Impact of Bangladesh's Mongla port Diplomacy on India-China Relations

This move can be marked as India's effort to counter the growing influence of China in the Indian Ocean. The Indian Ocean region is very crucial for China's Maritime Silk Road initiative and the country has made significant investments in acquiring the ports from Gwadar in Pakistan to Djibouti in East Africa.

However, India is still sitting low in international waters as compared to China, as there are no Indian ports featured in the world’s top 10 ports based on container traffic. Meanwhile, China stands strong with six ports on the list.

Bangladesh's Mongla port
Image Source: Observer Research Foundation

C Uday Bhaskar, director of the Delhi-based think tank Society for Policy Studies, believes that the development of Chabahar and Sittwe ports has been unimpressive over the years due to geopolitical and security factors.

South China Morning Post quoted him saying, “The progress in Iran and Myanmar has been uneven due to other geopolitical factors, and hopefully Mongla will allow for speedy execution of the agreement.”

Bhaskar further claimed that “Building and managing ports is a form of ‘port diplomacy’ a refurbished national power tool, which is acquiring strategic significance and China has pursued this path with great success.”

China currently dominates the Indian Ocean with nearly 17 ports, of which it is directly involved in the construction of 13.

With the management of the Mongla port terminal in hand, India will significantly aim at enhancing, its trade connectivity and regional influence. India was already granted full access to both the Chittagong and Mongla ports for transit and shipping in 2018, by Bangladesh, which already strengthened the bilateral trade.

According to Sohini Bose, an associate fellow at the Observer Research Foundation, “Firstly, it will be instrumental in enhancing bilateral trade with Bangladesh. Secondly, it will allow India’s landlocked northeast opportunities for maritime trade through alternative access to the Kolkata port, bypassing the narrow and congested Siliguri corridor.”

India’s strategic acquisition of the Mongla port will not only bolster economic relations between the two countries but also counter China’s growing influence in the Indian Ocean. The port will be a valuable asset for India, offering a base in the Bay of Bengal, which is increasingly becoming a hotspot for geopolitical competition.

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