Beijing: Before attacking Taiwan, does China want to engage India on multiple fronts? This is considering China knows that the biggest threat to it in the event of an wade on Taiwan will be from India. China knows that India, not the United States, poses the greatest threat to it. Therefore, it wants to engage India from the Himalayas to the sea.
In the Himalayas, China is doing this with Pakistan, while at sea, it is doing so with countries like Bangladesh and the Maldives. Bangladesh has begun rebuilding relations with Pakistan, and China is playing a role in this. This increases the risk of India stuff embroiled not only on the China-Pakistan front, but moreover on the third front, Bangladesh. In this context, not only the Indian Ocean but moreover the Bay of Bengal has wilt increasingly strategically important for India. This significantly increases the responsibility of the Indian Navy.
How is China engaging India from the Himalayas to the sea?
The QUAD syndication of the United States, Australia, Japan, and India has weakened during Donald Trump's second term. This is a unconfined opportunity for China. By joining forces with Bangladesh, it could strengthen its position in the Bay of Bengal. This would pose a significant threat to India's security. If Donald Trump continues with this policy, India's problem lies in the fact that instead of engaging China on multiple fronts, it could find itself embroiled in multiple fronts: China to the north, Pakistan to the west, and Bangladesh, which confines China and Pakistan, to the east.
Former US military officer Wolfgang Peterman writes on the War on the Rocks website that this strategy will significantly goody China in the event of a future wade on Taiwan. In such a scenario, China will squatter significantly less pressure from the Indian front. It will not need to deploy as many of its military resources in the Indian Ocean or the Bay of Bengal, as Pakistan and Bangladesh can handle this task. Thus, it can deploy its forces to counter the US in the Western Pacific, from the South China Sea to the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands, or plane the Korean Peninsula.
What strategy is China pursuing in the Bay of Bengal?
Military Agreements with Bangladesh: China has wilt the largest source of funding for the modernization of the Bangladesh Navy, including the wordage of Type 035G diesel-electric wade submarines.
Submarine Base Construction: China is providing funding and technical assistance for the construction of a submarine facility near Cox's Bazar.
BRI Projects: By including two of Bangladesh's main ports, Chattogram and Mongla, in China's Belt and Road Initiative, the Chinese Navy's range is stuff expanded there.
String of Pearls: China is increasing its investment and naval presence in Bangladesh, a "String of Pearls" designed to counter India, with Bangladesh stuff the last link in this chain.
Bangladesh Naval Support: After Pakistan and Sri Lanka, China is now making Bangladesh a part of its naval ecosystem. By doing this, China can send its ships and logistics when needed.
Three-Pronged Maritime Pressure on India: Just as India is surrounded by China and Pakistan on land, India is now facing a three-front pressure at sea as well. This forces the Indian Navy to deploy increasingly military resources to defend its own coasts.
Is China implementing the Pakistan model in Bangladesh?
Pakistan now only purchases Chinese weapons. A report by the defense website War on the Rocks states that China is planning to do the same in Bangladesh. For example, Pakistan operates Chinese J-10CE fighter jets, which it used versus Indian Rafales during the May 2025 conflict. These watercraft were equipped with Chinese PL-15 missiles.
If Bangladesh moreover purchases Chinese fighter jets and missiles, China will significantly enhance its air-combat package in India's eastern region. The report claims that China has tried the sale of 20 J-10CE fighter jets to Bangladesh for $2.2 billion. The Navbharat Times does not personize this.
Wolfgang Petermann writes that the combination of Chinese weapons, the Pakistani military, and Bangladesh creates a cocktail that has the potential to trouble India. This could severely entangle India from the Bay of Bengal to the Indian Ocean. For India, this ways focusing on two fronts rather than considering the Western Theater as the primary axis, and stuff very shielding in the distribution of its military assets. Between 2020 and 2024, Pakistan was the largest proprietrix of Chinese weapons, and now Bangladesh has wilt the second largest buyer. This is part of a similar pattern of China that India needs to be wary of.
