DHAKA: India summoned Bangladesh’s High Commissioner to New Delhi to convey its strong concerns on Wednesday over what it described as a deteriorating security situation in Bangladesh, particularly threats targeting the Indian Mission in Dhaka.
The move came two days after Bangladesh summoned the Indian High Commissioner in Dhaka to protest over what it termed “incendiary statements” made by former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina from Indian soil, warning that such remarks could undermine the country’s upcoming parliamentary election.
Bangladesh is preparing for a national election on February 12 under an interim administration led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus. The interim government took office after Sheikh Hasina fled to India in August last year amid mass protests.
Ties between the neighbors have become frosty since Hasina fled to Delhi and Dhaka has repeatedly asked for her extradition.
According to India's Ministry of External Affairs, High Commissioner Riaz Hamidullah was informed about activities by certain extremist elements who have allegedly announced plans to create a security situation around the Indian Mission in Dhaka. New Delhi said these developments were a matter of serious concern.
The MEA said India “completely rejects” what it described as a false narrative being promoted by extremist groups regarding recent incidents in Bangladesh. It also expressed regret that the interim government had neither conducted a thorough investigation into those incidents nor shared “meaningful evidence” with India.
There was no immediate comment from the Bangladesh authorities on India’s move.
New Delhi stressed that it supported peace and stability in Bangladesh and had consistently called for free, fair, inclusive and credible elections conducted in a peaceful environment.
The latest diplomatic exchange comes amid heightened political tensions in Bangladesh ahead of the election, with protests, counterprotests and growing concerns over law and order reported in recent weeks.
India summons Bangladesh envoy over security concerns in Dhaka
https://arab.news/9tuqf
India summons Bangladesh envoy over security concerns in Dhaka
- Ties between the neighbors have become frosty since Hasina fled to Delhi and Dhaka has repeatedly asked for her extradition
China says Philippines distorted facts about incident near disputed atoll
- The Chinese ministry defended its coast guard’s actions as “reasonable, lawful, professional and restrained”
BEIJING: China’s defense ministry accused the Philippines on Wednesday of distorting the facts about an incident involving the Chinese coast guard and Filipino fishermen near a South China Sea shoal, a charge Manila strongly rejected.
The Philippine coast guard said over the weekend that three Filipino fishermen were injured and two fishing vessels damaged when Chinese coast guard ships cut their anchor lines and fired water cannon near the Sabina Shoal on Friday, actions the Philippine defense secretary denounced as “dangerous” and “inhumane.”
The Chinese ministry defended its coast guard’s actions as “reasonable, lawful, professional and restrained,” and vowed to “take strong and effective measures” in response to “all acts of infringement and provocation,” according to a statement released on its social media account.
“The Philippine side amassed a large number of ships in an organized and premeditated manner to illegally intrude” into the atoll’s lagoon, the ministry said. “Philippine personnel even threatened Chinese coast guard on site with a knife,” it added.
Philippine defense ministry spokesperson Arsenio Andolong maintained that Manila has evidence to counter China’s assertions.
“The facts are not distorted. They are documented, timestamped, and corroborated by video recordings, vessel logs, and on-site reporting by the Philippine Coast Guard,” Andolong said in a statement.
“The Philippines is not hyping the issue, the facts speak for themselves. These are aggressive and excessive actions of an encroaching state,” he added.
Sabina Shoal, which China refers to as Xianbin Reef and the Philippines as the Escoda Shoal, lies in the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone 150 km (95 miles) west of Palawan province.
China claims almost the entire South China Sea, a waterway supporting more than $3 trillion of annual commerce. The areas Beijing claims cut into the exclusive economic zones of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.
An international arbitral tribunal ruled in 2016 that Beijing’s sweeping claims had no basis under international law, a decision China rejects.
