Md. Al-Amin

In the world of power politics, each state faces a multi-dimensional power struggle regarding securing its sovereignty. The ongoing war between Iran and Israel triggers the Middle East into a new hole since the Iran-Iraq war. This war is a new phenomenon for whole Muslim-centric countries. This is not only an existential war for Israel but also a religious dissidence against Iran where Iran is the lone warrior who fights strongly against the enemies. The war teaches the whole World that not having the capabilities to deter the opponent makes it impossible to exist in the world of power politics. As a developing country, Bangladesh is now wavering in a serious diplomatic and strategic upfront for its geographic location.

Bangladesh is surrounded by India from three sides of its territory where one side is bounded by Myanmar and the Bay of Bengal. Irony, the geo-strategic position of Bangladesh is now the main issue for themselves. After the fall of the Sheikh Hasina regime in Bangladesh on 5th August 2024; Bangladesh is now facing geo-diplomatic turmoil against India. On the other side, a lot of issues have arisen from the neighbor of Myanmar. Along with that, political instability in Bangladesh and dependency on single export-oriented goods have played a serious concern for Bangladesh. Now a major concern arises about Bangladesh's stand-out stability over South Asia.

Regarding its geo-strategic position, Bangladesh is facing a multi-dimensional security threat from its long-lasting trusted neighbors after the regime change in Bangladesh. After 5th August 2024; the diplomatic relations between Bangladesh and India are getting worse. India openly narrated a lot of internal issues of Bangladesh which are contradictory to International norms and customs. They influenced America by asserting action over the minority issue in Bangladesh. In the case of arresting an ISKCON leader for violation of Bangladesh's sovereignty, a massive campaign against Bangladesh was installed in West Bengal which turned into a massacre over the Assistant High Commission Office of Agartala and Deputy High Commission of Kolkata that was completely illegal following the Vienna Convention of Diplomatic Regulations of 1961.

As a lower riparian country, Bangladesh has all sorts of rights to get the proper amount of water from the Teesta River from the Indian side. But these long-lasting Teesta water-sharing disputes carried over the years by violating International Laws of the River. They even protested over the “Teesta Master Plan” which was mutually nearly conducted between Bangladesh and China. Recently they started to push in their natives naming them Bangladeshi. According to BGB headquarters, from May 7 to 31, a total of 1,222 people have been forcibly pushed into Bangladesh by India, and the trend continues. This is a Paramount tension for Bangladesh. On the other hand, Bangladesh is dealing with Myanmar with nothing but border conflicts along with the Rohingya refugee crisis. About 1.2m Rohingya people are not only a burden but also cause serious local upheaval in Bangladesh. In recent times, about 1 lakh 80 thousand Rohingya refugees were supposed to return to their own Arakan state but due to the issue of the “Humanitarian Corridor,” the process of Rohingya repatriation ended in smoke. Due to internal clashes over Myanmar, frequent rocket launchers fall on the border of Bangladesh Naikhongchhari, Bandarban. Bangladesh asserted its concern towards the Junta government but nothing has changed. Over the Arakan state, out of 17 towns, the Arakan Army captured 15 of them. Bangladesh is bound to withdraw its ambassador from Myanmar on the 28th of May to start a diplomatic channel to create a path for Rohingya refugee repatriation. However, it is not so easy for Bangladesh to cope with the volatile situation of Myanmar. As the Arakan Army conquered almost the whole area of Arakan State the chances of the Rohingya repatriation process were very shaky. This is the most alarming issue for Bangladesh.

Regarding dependency over single export-oriented goods, since the independence of Bangladesh, there are no other more demanding goods than Readymade garments products exported abroad. But this power struggle world is not the safest place where Bangladesh can rely on only one export-oriented good in this twenty century. Along with the competition of China and Vietnam in the global market, there is no diversification of the market as well. Nowadays, the flow of expatriates towards the Middle - East is also contracting. Above all difficulties put Bangladesh's foreign reserves keep diminishing.

Regarding the defense system, the Iran- Israel war shows us how a competitor fights against one another lonely on the battlefield. This war indicates that to stay on the map of the world there is no alternative to being self-equipped. In the case of the defense system, Bangladesh does not have that kind of retaliation ability to deter any enemy attack on its soil. Even there is no soft eagerness to build a strong defence policy to implement The proposed Bangladesh national budget for FY2025-26 includes a defense allocation of Tk 40,698 crore. This represents a decrease of Tk 1,316 crore compared to the previous year's proposed budget. That indicates that the military budget of 2025 is still not getting any light for the defense system of Bangladesh to protect its sovereignty.

Being stable as a sovereign country, Bangladesh needs to enrich its weak points. They also need to maintain the change of world politics. Ultimately, Bangladesh needs to be aware of enriching its military strength besides counterbalancing between China and India for which no enemies can dare to attack on its soil. Now it's time to move on to Bangladesh.

The writer is an educator. He completed his post-graduation from the Department of International Relations at Rajshahi University,Bangladesh. His research interests are Diplomacy, Foreign policy, Border conflicts, and Security issues.