Washington:
The US has taken note of a Chinese diplomat’s statement warning Bangladesh against joining the Quad, the informal grouping of Australia, India, Japan and America to coordinate in the Indo-Pacific area, a major State Department official has stated.
State Department Spokesperson Ned Price told reporters at his every day news conference on Tuesday that the US has an extremely sturdy relationship with Bangladesh.
“We have taken note of that statement from the PRC (People’s Republic of China) ambassador to Bangladesh.
“What we would say is that we respect Bangladesh’s sovereignty and we respect Bangladesh’s appropriate to make foreign policy choices for itself,” Price said.
Responding to a question, he said that the United States is close with its partners on a range of issues from economic growth to climate change to humanitarian issues.
“When it comes to the Quad, we have stated this prior to… it is an informal, crucial, multilateral mechanism that appropriate now convenes like-minded democracies, the United States, India, Australia and Japan to coordinate in the Indo-Pacific and fundamentally to push forward our objective of a no cost and open Indo-Pacific area,” Price said.
In a provocative remark on Monday, China’s ambassador in Dhaka Li Jiming warned Bangladesh against joining the US-led Quad alliance, saying that Dhaka’s participation in the anti-Beijing “club” would result in “substantial harm” to bilateral relations.
“Obviously, it will not be a excellent concept for Bangladesh to participate in this smaller club of 4 (Quad) since it will substantially harm our bilateral relationship,” Li said at a virtual meeting organised by the Diplomatic Correspondents Association, Bangladesh.
Bangladesh’s foreign minister Dr AK Abdul Momen described the Chinese envoy’s comment as “incredibly unfortunate” and “aggressive”.
“We are an independent and sovereign state. We choose our foreign policy,” he stated.
Initiated in 2007, the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, Quad for brief, is an informal grouping of the US, India, Australia and Japan.
China has vehemently opposed the formation of the Quad with a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman emphasising in March that exchanges and cooperation involving nations ought to assistance expand mutual understanding and trust, alternatively of targeting or harming the interests of third parties.
The Quad member nations have resolved to uphold a guidelines-based international order in the Indo-Pacific amid increasing Chinese assertiveness in the strategically very important area.
The initially summit of the Quad leaders was hosted by US President Joe Biden on March 12 and the virtual meeting was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga.
The 4 Quad leaders have vowed to strive for an Indo-Pacific area that is no cost, open, inclusive, wholesome, anchored by democratic values, and unconstrained by coercion, sending a clear message to China against its aggressive actions in the area.
(This story has not been edited by TheSpuzz employees and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)